


The War On Drakon: Volume One

by kate_mckinnon



Series: War On Drakon [1]
Category: Avengers Kids - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/F, F/M, Full of OCs, M/M, Multi, Names have been changed, Witch AU, addie is an abuser, cackles, gerard is pietro, i know it's got a fuckton of ocs but seriously im trying, marius is bucky, marvel AU, morris is tony, pls read, tw for domestic abuse, will is bruce, yw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-24 06:42:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 53,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10736271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate_mckinnon/pseuds/kate_mckinnon
Summary: The Scene Where All Ships Are Made





	1. BECKY : I

"Once, a long time ago, Witches were despised, hated, and feared by humans for their many talents. The Witches were perceived as maleficent, ungodly wielders of the natural forces. Even in parenthood, they produced children capable of bringing floods and fires if they so wished, though this was disproved when it was discovered the amount of concentration those spells take. Even when having children with unsuspecting humans, their children inherited at least one ability from their Witch parent- control of an element, telekinesis, telepathy- powers that, on their own, were still just as lethal."  
"The Witches had always been portrayed as extremely destructive, dangerous, and genocidal. In 1756, Witches began to be attacked, as well as their children. After over two hundred of their people had been killed within a number of months, a large number of the Witches who were left grouped together- some humans came as well, being spouses or lovers of some of the Witches- and they migrated to a desolate land with all they had."  
"They brought magic to Lorus, brought crops and rain and houses and everything they needed. They eventually built a community so tightly-knit it rose until it became a powerful country." I felt my eyelids droop sleepily as Ms. Johnson continued her lecture on the Great Migration of the Witches of Lorus. It wasn't like History class wasn't usually interesting, but we learned about the Great Migration every single year, ever since we were, what, five? Back then, at least, we didn't learn about all the death. Fifth grade was interesting when it came to that new information.   
I've got it, the Great Migration was an important part of Witch history, and Witches from all over were finally able to unite for what they believed to be their last stand- but learning about the same stuff every year just didn't have that wondrous effect on me anymore. I just didn't really care that much anymore. Besides, with the Witch population mixed with humans so much, there were barely any Witches left. In fact, in my city, I knew only one real Witch. Almost everyone I'd met was either Gifted- half-human, half-witch- or human. Lars was the one exception.  
Lars was a very old man- possibly three hundred years old? I couldn't tell- Witches could live a very long time, if their magic was strong enough and if they wanted to- even thousands of years. However, though he was "ancient," he took on the appearance of about a twenty-year-old man. He had long black hair, usually pulled back in a bun, and kind green eyes with a soft smile. I knew him through Ingrid, a friend of mine, who was about two hundred or so, who he was married to. Like him, she has pale green eyes with light orange hair, usually in braids. They were both incredibly tall people, often called gentle giants by the people who knew them. They didn't have clothes in a good condition, but they were both incredibly nice people, both with tired souls and hearts of gold.   
I met both of them through my dads, Marius and Gerard Barnes. Lars and Ingrid were nomads, moving from kingdom to kingdom as they pleased. From what I heard via eavesdropping (I know, I know, but I can't help it. If you saw a Witch for the first time you wouldn't be at least a little bit curious about why they're here?), they were looking for something. I couldn't tell what, because my parents ordered me to never ask, and even when I did, they wouldn't tell me.  
But, they told me everything else about them. For only a couple of centuries of life, they seemed to have so many stories, some happy, some devastating. They used to have children- ten of them, in fact. Ingrid wouldn't tell me what their names were, but she did tell me what happened to them. The first of their children was only three months old when she was taken. The last was only a few days.  
 _They'd make better history teachers than Ms. Johnson,_ I thought to myself rather bitterly. Yes, like most students, I didn't quite enjoy my teachers, considering the were paid to make my brain hurt for seven hours a day, five days a week. But, then again, I really had more of a reason than that to hate Ms. Johnson. She was a smart woman who tried her best-- at least, tried her best to separate married couples for her own gain. That, of course, was none of my business, but I felt content to continue sipping my tea whenever she came up in conversation.  
Next to me, James tapped his pencil on his desk out of boredom, pulling me out of my thoughts as I stuck her own pencil in my soft white hair. Ever since I was a baby, I'd had bright white hair, red-rimmed eyes, and skin white as porcelain. It wasn't as pretty as it sounded. I looked dead, which meant everyone around me felt free to come up with shitty nicknames for me, like "Granny" or "Zombie Girl," in elementary school. Of course, it still happened a fair amount in high school, but whenever it did, I just rolled my pale, pale green eyes and continued on. I learned a long time ago there was more to me than just Zombie Girl. Being an ugly kid, it was pretty much essential to my growth as a person that I found a way to get over the way I look. Well, I still hadn't, not completely, but that was besides the point.  
Ms. Johnson looked rather miffed at the sudden tapping and I had to work not to smile, only the corners of my mouth turning upwards despite my efforts to keep a poker face.  
"James, please stop tapping." She flipped her thin blonde hair over her shoulder as James rolled his dark brown eyes, tousled his black hair, and put his pencil down to rest on his desk in compliance with her order. James Stark had been my best friend since forever, and I was just as petty as him like he was just as petty as me- we were very petty, obviously.  
Since our parents knew each other before we were even conceived, we were pretty much forced to become friends, but when we were actually able to walk and talk, it was a lot easier on both of us, because he finally stopped getting freaked out at my corpse face and we were able to share our salt. As a result of this, he stuck up for me just about every time someone picked on me for my looks, while also being best friend enough to laugh hysterically at me when I fell and skinned my knees once when I was nine. He helped me up, of course. He was an asshole, but he was never a douchebag.   
Ms. Johnson sniffed angrily and began to speak again, making me put my head down on my desk to conceal my quiet laughter as Alistair began to tap behind me. Alistair Castle had been James and I's friend since middle school, at which point he was pretty new to the city. Ali had deep, dark, doe-brown eyes and a boyish smile, usually. He was fairly tan and had dimples that matched the utter cuteness of the sparkle in his eyes- he looked completely innocent until you got to know him, but he was still kind. I can't count how many times we helped him when his mom was getting to be too much, and I don't regret any of the times I got grounded for having a boy in my room without permission, because he was worth it every single time. Despite the tapping, Ms. Johnson resumed speaking, as though she thought it would stop automatically once she did.  
"This country was named Lorus, as you all know. After all, we live here. It was named for Magnolia Holmes' deceased son, killed by humans in 1752 at the age of 16. He is often marked as the first of the hate crimes against witches, though those crimes go back much farther than the 1700's. Lorus Holmes became known as a martyr- the symbol and the start of a revolution." When the tapping continued, Ms. Johnson stiffened.   
"Alistair!" She snapped, and the tapping stopped. I could practically hear the smile in Alistair's voice when he said, "Yes, Ma'am?"  
"No tapping." She stared at him icily until he dropped his pencil back on his desk with a clatter before straightening her back and opening her mouth to speak again when--  
 _Tap-tap tap-tap tap-tap tap-tap--_  
"ENOUGH _TAPPING_!" It was me she was yelling at this time, and I didn't bother hiding my smile. "Yes, Ms. Johnson." Her nostrils flared at my response as though I said something that offended her ancestors.   
"The next person to tap on their desk will--" Before she could list out any ridiculously harsh punishment, a scream from the atrium pierced through the windows. I was bewildered, looking around to see who else had heard it to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and already, people were starting to get out of their seats when a deafening crash made our chests vibrate and an earth-shaking roar ripped through the air like claws through tissue paper. I looked around again.   
Everyone who had started to get up from their seats was frozen, their eyes darting around as everyone seemed to share the same expression, exchange the same look. And then Addison Johnson pointed out the window and screamed. I tried to get past the other kids to see what was happening, and when a few of them finally ran away from the window, James, Ali and I saw what Addie was screaming at. As everyone else seemed to scatter, screaming, yelling, trying to find a place to hide, we continued to stare out the window, utterly dumbfounded and somehow in awe by what we were seeing.   
The source of the roar was long and twisting like a worm with scales and relatively tiny feet compared to the rest of its quick body and gargantuan head. All along its iridescent body were pairs of thin, yet fleshy, wings, like a dragonfly's wings, but more. The thing was majestic, elegant despite its size. It was huge, but it moved almost gracefully, and very, very quickly. It also seemed to change color with every movement- red, then yellow, then blue, then green, then purple-- its scales glimmered and shined wherever the light hit them.  
Next to me, I heard someone begin to whisper. "It's a diamond dragon . . . It's beautiful." Ms. Johnson finally snapped out of her trance.   
"It's a DRAGON! Everyone, GET OUT! NOW! GO TO THE BASEMENT!" She began shooing students out of the door while I watched as down below, the diamond dragon let out a column of fire that turned the nearest security guard to ash before she could even scream. I felt my hands begin to shake and while the only other people remaining by the windows besides James and Ali starting screaming, some crying hysterically as my ears began to ring. I continued to watch while more and more people came running at the dragon, snapping its teeth as their weapons glanced off its scales. I felt someone pull at my hand and looked over to see James.  
"GRAB ALI! WE NEED TO RUN!" Noticing Ms. Johnson and the rest of the class were now gone, the only sounds remaining were whimpering and the roars of the dragon. I grabbed Ali, and, my heart already pounding, I began to run, casting one more glance back at the window, seeing smoke filling the atrium.   
Once we got out of the room, the hallways were completely empty, but completely wrecked, bags ripped and dropped on the ground, papers scattering everywhere, claw marks in the ceiling- I assumed that was from the few kids who could shapeshift. We started to run down the stairs, all of us panting and James and Ali holding onto the railings, when James froze. I ran straight into his back, as Ali ran into mine, and I couldn't even think enough to say something snappy to him. The only thing that came from my lips was a shaky gasp as I realized why he stopped. I slowly looked down the stairwell with him and my heart nearly stopped. My eyes locked with the dragon's, and I swear, I've never seen something so terrible that was so beautiful.   
"James, Ali . . ." I breathed, unsure of what to say as the dragon stared right back at us. It was like it was just as startled by our appearance as we were with its. And then, all four of us snapped into action. Ali was the first one to start running this time, and he ran away so fast that our hands nearly separated. Mind racing, trying to figure out where to go, the first place I could think of was towards the other stairwell.   
Before we made it halfway, a roar sounded behind us and Ali let out a yelp in response, running somehow faster now that the dragon was directly behind us. As we reached the door, it swung open and I let out an involuntary scream as Lars pushed past us and Ingrid pulled us into the stairwell, slamming the door behind us and bracing herself up against it. Another roar shook the hallway outside and it took me a moment to realize how much danger Lars was in. I immediately rushed to the door, only for James and Ingrid to shout at me to stop and for Ali to pull me back.  
"NO! LARS--" Ingrid looked pained at my hollering, but interrupted. "He'll be fine." A yell erupted from the hallway and there was a loud thump before everything went silent. Ali, exhausted from the running, finally let me go, and I charged to the door and threw it open, eyes watering, only to see a much different scene than what I was expecting. Lars laid unconscious on the floor, and a few feet away, a large, iridescent egg laid on its side, cracked. I approached it before I heard a cough behind me, and looked to see Lars with just his head up.   
"Couldn't destroy such a beauty, could I? Diamond dragons are rare, Barnes. Very . . . _Rare_ . . ." He trailed off before dropping his head again. James, Ali and Ingrid emerged from the stairway, the boys looking fairly shaken and equally traumatized. I let out a sob. This really wasn't what I was planning to do with my day, but okay.


	2. ALRIK : II

A long way away from the capital city of Reyella, Lorus, thirteen children sit in an abandoned barn, all of them with blank looks except for one.  
I was one of them. I sat in a corner, away from everyone else. Everyone else tried to do the same to the rest of them. We felt safer in the shadows. Always had. The darkness had, in my history, been warmer than the light.   
I stared at Edmund, my older half-brother by about eighty years. He looked not a day over twenty, but you could tell when you looked in his eyes that he was someone much more powerful than he looked on the outside. He had soft blonde hair that fell just past his ears to his shoulders in waves and gray eyes. He was putting mental shields on those of us who didn't have the skill to do so ourselves.  
I'm sixteen. Because of my Gifts, I look less like a gangly and giraffe-like humanoid than some of my siblings. Unlike Edmund, I have short black hair, some of it falling over my forehead and into my eyes in two parts. My eyes are a "startling" blue, as a couple people have told me. All of my siblings are tall considering their age. Something we all got from our father, or in my case, both parents. Despite being the child of two Witches, I only have a few gifts, no real magic. I got it from my mother. Her name, according to the Shadow King, was Ariana. When she was a baby, as I'm told, she was stripped of her magic. She was born into a very wealthy family, in a time during which bastard children were frowned upon. She was the child of the mother of the family too, who had adulterated with a merchant, which made it only worse for her. She was thrown on the streets by the father of the family. She met a man when she was seventeen, married him when she was eighteen, and had me and my siblings. She then gave us all over to the Shadow King, one by one, birth by birth, to save her own hide, before she then scurried off with her husband to a distant land. She was two hundred seventy-eight years old. Already had the gift of longevity. She obviously had plenty of time to churn out some more kids. Maybe even start up a little farm for her family, a tiny legacy for her and her husband, Loki, to leave behind.   
I used to think about her every day. I wanted to remember her. The sound of her heartbeat. The color of her hair. The feeling of her arms holding me. Just one thing. And then, like my siblings, I realized that she wasn't coming back for us. She was never coming back for us. In fact, she probably thought we were dead, that our father, Shadow King, had killed us. It'd been twenty-two years. Only a fair assumption, I guess. That's all I knew about my mother. That's all the Shadow King told us. That she was a selfish whore, who had given us up without hesitation. That's all I needed to hear.  
I watched as Edmund raised his hands to the ceiling. I could hear footsteps approaching. Like a million firecrackers popping at once, Edmund set off fire magic and disappeared in a wisp of smoke, going back to our father.   
The footsteps got louder. They were running towards us. The barn doors swung open, squeaking on their hinges and bouncing off the walls as they do. We all stood up, hands on our heads. No matter how magical any of us were, we weren't well-trained enough to dodge bullets. I continued to stare blankly off into space as I was forced onto my knees, my hands cuffed behind my back. As I was walked outside to join the rest of my siblings, I could see what tipped them off. Burned in the meadow outside the farmhouse were the words " _THE SOLDIERS OF THE SHADOW KING_." I watched as the officers who caught us snuffed out the sparks, a crazed smile on my face as tiny puffs of smoke rose into the sky.   
" _Burn, baby, burn_ . . ."


	3. JAMES : III

"She's called again." I heard my Pa groan in annoyance when my Dad informed him of Ms. Johnson's persistence. He picked up the phone, answering and putting it to his ear. As I listened, I watched Becky, Ali, Theo and Eli's faces as we all looked at each other silently.   
"We already know there was a dragon attack at the school! It was all over the news! You really think I'd miss it when half of it was broadcast over every single Reyella news channel?" There was a pause, and Ali whispered, "Really? She's not even that good of a liar anymore. She used to be way more creative." Eli nodded in agreement, combing his fingers through his light blonde hair.  
"She's desperate." He explained the obvious.  
"She's _got_ to be desperate if she's coming to a gay man for romantic favors." Theo flipped her black hair over her shoulder, her bright red painted lips curling into a smirk as Becky snorted in response.  
I heard Pa snarl and I pressed a finger to my lips, causing everyone to fall silent. "He doesn't need YOUR help with ANYTHING! He's too bloody scared to answer the fucking phone when it rings because of _you_!" Another pause, and I heard Pa taking a few deep breaths, trying to keep his Gift from taking control of him. I heard Dad sigh.  
" _I_ can talk to her, if you want." Dad offered, sounding rather sorry.  
"No. She'll hear it from me, Morris. You've already tried to tell her. It's _not_ your fault." Pa replied to him calmly.  
" _Damn_ ," Becky whispered, impressed with Pa's restraint. I knew her well enough to know that if she was the one to come to the phone, Ms. Johnson would be in tears by now. Theo sighed and flopped on Becky's lap as we continued to listen in on the conversation. I could hear a loud and angry buzzing coming from the phone and smirked involuntarily. Oh, Ms. Johnson was gonna get it.   
"Back OFF! He doesn't WANT you because he's happily MARRIED and GAY! If you call again, I'm filing for a restraining order. _Last warning_. Leave my fucking husband alone." Pa took a deep and shaky breath, ending the call and placing Dad's phone on the kitchen counter. I sighed as I listened to Dad console Pa and Pa console Dad, Dad thanking Pa for his help and Pa saying he was welcome to it.  
"You think Ms. Johnson is gonna stop now?" I asked, pretty much already knowing the answer before any of them said anything. Theo shook her head and Becky immediately blurted out "Nah." Eli got up to close the door completely, leaving us almost entirely in the dark, besides the phone flashlights from my phone, Becky's, and Ali's pointed toward the ceiling and the moonlight seeping in through the window above my bed with the thinnest purple curtain. It was 9 PM and all of us spent at least three hours after school talking about the dragon attack, making Eli and Theo gawk when Becky, Ali and I described what it was like seeing it face-to-face with no window between us. Them being my brother and sister, they were jealous, I'm 75% sure. That made my crippling lack of self-esteem a little better. For a few minutes, we just sat in the dark. Theo played with Becky's hair. Alistair was playing Temple Run (he refused to delete the app off his phone- "it's a classic" was his reasoning for that). Eli was staring blankly at a wall. Probably thinking about something abstract.  
I looked up to the door when I heard some footsteps approaching, and squinted when the door was opened all the way, letting light from the hallway flood into my bedroom. Pa stood there, looking aloof with his reading glasses slightly askew, his curly brown hair sticking up a bit and his dark brown eyes plagued by purplish-blue bags beneath them. "Hey, kids," he sighed a little, rubbing the bridge of his nose. I heard a muffled sob come from downstairs and I sat up. "What's wrong? What happened?" Eli asked immediately, his brow furrowed. Even Theo, normally nonchalant, looked concerned now. Pa looked back up, and his expression was full of dread as he did. My heart began its plummet.   
"Dad and I . . . We've been drafted. We're required to start training in a few days . . . Lars just told us." The room went silent. My head began to spin.   
"What?" I asked, incredulous, trying to rationalize this situation and failing miserably as I stared at him, waiting for further explanation. From what I could tell from the look on his face, this explanation wouldn't be any better than I thought it would be. My heart pounded.  
"The dragon that attacked your school was from Drakon. It was a declaration of war, a . . . promise. Lorus is drafting everyone twenty-five and over into the army. Over the years, there hasn't been a need for it, but now . . . Now they need us. Everyone needs us. I don't want to go, but I have to. So I will." I felt like a living blur meme. I felt like an actual cartoon crab with a radial blur on all sides. I looked at Theo and Eli, both of whom looked just like how I felt. Ali shook his head in response to Pa's explanation.  
"They can't do that, Will, there's no way they're allowed to do it- it must be illegal, it has to be--" Pa sighed in reply. "They can. They just did. It's one of my duties as a citizen anyways. I have to protect my country. One day, you'll have to as well. That's just how it works." I felt my eyes begin to burn with tears as I looked back at Pa. I was only sixteen, what was I supposed to do without my parents here to guide me? What were my friends going to do? This wasn't fair. Becky looked pained.  
"There's a chance you guys won't actually have to fight, right? You could just . . . You could just . . . Train for a year and then the war will be over? And even if it continues, maybe they'll put you in a place where you won't be attacked . . . There's a _chance_ , right?" She asked quietly. Pa shrugged.  
"That's what I tried to tell Morris. But, sadly, he's a Stark, which means he's stubborn as all hell and won't listen to a damn thing anyone says." He had a wistful smile for a moment as he spoke. Theo's voice cracked as soon as she began to speak.   
"Pa, what's going to happen to us?" Her dark brown eyes sparkled with tears. He sighed softly, his own eyes glimmering some.   
"You'll be fine. I promise, you'll be just fine. They'll be sending you someplace else, someplace safe, out in the countryside. A mansion is what you'll be living in, basically. There will be more than one mansion, but all the Reyella kids will be with you, so you don't have to worry about being separated. There are going to be some adults coming with you, to look after all of you as long as you're there. They'll make absolutely sure that you're safe. I promise."  
I felt like everything was falling apart before my eyes. How could we be at war? How long was this going to last? Would my parents be there for my prom? Would they even be there for my graduation? Would I just never see them again? Becky spoke up once again.   
"How many city kids are going to this place?" Pa paused at the question.  
"Actually, every child in the entire country is being evacuated. As I said, there are several mansions, several compounds. They were built to house millions, maybe even billions. The babies and the elementary school kids, I think, are going to Halen . . ." He trailed off, rubbing his temples as we all stared at him in disbelief.   
"How long . . . ?" Elias whispered, and Pa shook his head.  
"I'm sure you'll be fine . . . Safe and sound . . . Dad and I will call every night. I promise." Ali, even though this was good for him, even though he wouldn't see his mom for a while because of this, looked as distraught of any of us. Probably because he was an empath, but also because he was a better friend than anyone could ask for. Pa chewed his lip, staring at the flooe before looking back up at us again.  
"Becky, Alistair, you'd best be heading home now, I think . . ." He paused, looking towards Theo, Eli and I.   
"Jay, Theo, Eli . . . I'll help you pack your things." He spoke quietly, somberly, mournfully, already surrendering to his fate. When everyone left the room, I'd never cried harder.


	4. BECKY : IV

It wasn't fair. Yeah, I know, "life isn't fair," but this really _wasn't fair_. Okay, now that I really think about it, "not fair" wasn't really the right way to put it. How about "colossally fucking shitty"? Yeah, I guess that would work. I spent the entire day packing- we had school off, because, you know, a dragon attacked?- and I could pretty much feel Gerard looking at me sadly with his baby blue eyes the whole time. Marius, who I used to call Dad, however, kept his distance. Not for a single moment during the day did I see his baby-cheeked face, only catching perhaps a glimpse of his blue eyes or dark, shoulder-length hair (say what you will about the Barnes family, but we had fabulous hair, okay).  
I sighed as I packed my last box and moved it out to the moving truck while Gerard, my other dad, followed me like a lost puppy. "So," I began bitterly, "does Dad want to say anything to me before I leave, or does he just want to keep avoiding me like a racist old lady avoids urban cities?" I inquired rhetorically, to which Gerard sighed. I know, it's kind of weird to refer to my dads by their first names, but it's more comfortable for me, knowing they're a normal person just like I am. Well, in some cases. It's less comforting now they're about to be carted off to war, knowing that they're just two people. Knowing that there are so many things that could hurt, or even kill them. God, this sucked so fucking much. If I were to really explain how bad life was fucking me over at that moment, I would say a lot more than that, though. Sadly, I just can't find the words to describe "sad," "angry," 'bitter," and "depressed," besides "overall negative," which still doesn't really cover it. In short, I was pissed. Primarily. With a bunch of other emotions covered up by it. I don't know why, but it feels better to be angry rather than to feel completely helpless. Gerard was never the type of person to let himself drown in self-pity either, as I've heard. He would rather hold onto a grudge than let himself fall down. He was an orphan, and one of the only things that kept him from falling apart, other than his sister, was anger- pure rage.  
It took a minute for Gerard to think up a reply. Or to find the strength to say it. I don't know which.   
"Becky, you have to understand . . . Dad isn't so good with emotions." I turned back to him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Neither am I, and I would still at least say 'bye' to my daughter if there was a possibility I was never going to see her again. But, y'know, maybe that's just me." Gerard looked pained and combed his fingers through his messy platinum blond hair.   
"Becky, _please_ listen to me." I kept my arms crossed but stayed angrily, stubbornly silent, looking at him directly in the eyes. He took this as an invitation to keep talking, which I guess it was.   
"Becky, your father isn't like us. He sees emotion as vulnerability most of the time, and that's not his fault. He doesn't like to bare his soul. Sometimes he literally can't. It took a very long time for him to open up to me." I felt my eyes begin to burn, but the closer I got to tears, the angrier I became. "He's very sensitive, and--" " _What_ , so he doesn't have enough of a connection to his own daughter for him to even feel comfortable enough to show emotions around her?" I interrupted. I felt my voice rising in volume despite trying to keep it controlled as best as possible. Gerard's expression hardened, whether he knew it or not.   
"Becky, no. He loves you _so_ much, more than you'll ever know-" At that point, I wouldn't have doubted I'd never know, since he certainly wasn't showing affection now, "-- and ever since we found you, we wanted you and we loved you. But, if he has to say goodbye, he might just break." I lowered my arms to my sides, shaking my head, and I stormed past Gerard and back into the house. I went back up to my room again, closing and locking the door.I pulled our my phone, unlocked it, and immediately went to Skype to call James and Ali. As it rang, I felt myself slowly calming down. I wiped at my eyes before tears could escape, before James and Ali picked up.   
"Yo!" Ali grinned and I rolled my eyes a little. "Didn't that word already die out?" James asked the question before I could. Ali shrugged, from what I could tell, because whatever he did made his camera shake violently.  
"So? Who called the word police?" He teased James. I heard a loud, incoherent yell in the background. "Is that Teresa?" I'd never seen Teresa Jamison before, but I could recognize Ali's mom yelling from across the city if she did. Ali grimaced in response to my question. "Don't worry. This is my hiding spot. She's never found me here before. I think she's too dumb to look." James furrowed his brow at Ali's reply.  
"Where is your hiding spot, exactly?" He inquired. "Under the porch." Ali shrugged. "Oh, Jesus." "Nope, just Alistair. Wish I could walk on water though- that'd be useful." He replied to my exclamation cheekily, smiling once again. I snorted.   
"Seriously, if you need to come over to my place, my parents don't mind." I told him, but he just shook his head. "I think I'll be fine."   
I heard a knock on my door and groaned. "I'll be back." James rolled his eyes. "Okay, Terminator." I hung up on the call and locked my phone before going to the door and unlocking it before flopping back down on my bed. "'S open." I called out, laying facedown on my bed on top of my phone. I heard the door open and a soft "Hello," reached my ears. I rolled over, looking up at the doorway as the door closed behind her. Ingrid's eyes were shining a bit but she looked like she was trying to act like she was fine- like how adults tell little kids that everything is going to be fine when they either have no idea if it will be, or they know with certainty that it won't be. I sighed a little. "Hey." She approached me, gently climbing onto my bed and sitting by me. "Reyella officials say you and James and Alistair will be leaving tomorrow." She spoke quietly. "Lars and I are supposed to leave today." My heart sank and I sat up, giving her a huge sidehug, burying my face in her shoulder. She let out a sad little laugh.  
"I'm going to miss you, little one." She spoke. "You better." I teased in reply, muffled by her shoulder as she let out another small laugh. There was another knock on the door. I sniffled. "It's open." I looked up, letting go of Ingrid as Lars came in, holding a wad of blankets. He smiled lightly when he saw me. "I'm going to need to to take care of this one . . . They're allowing you to bring blankets and toiletries on the train . . . I have no one else I can trust with the little one . . ." I furrowed my brow a little. "What?" A small puff of steam emitted from the wad of blankets. My heart pounded.  
"Is that . . . ?" I looked between him and the wad questioningly as he came closer with it. Once he finally held the wad of blankets underneath my nose and plopped it cautiously in my lap, did I slowly look down. In my lap, swaddled in blankets like a newborn baby, was a tiny, shimmering diamond dragon, steam puffing out of its nostrils like a damn cartoon. I inhaled deeply as I looked down at the impossibly small version of the thing that attacked my school and started this war in the first place. It coughed, and a puff of smoke came from its throat.   
"Lars . . . what the hell?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice quiet and even, suddenly acutely aware of how extremely flammable my wooden house was, as well as of the fact my parents were still in it and had ears like bats. Lars shifted slightly.  
"If they had her, they'd want to use her as a weapon, but she's just a tiny thing . . . She doesn't deserve such cruel treatment . . . She's rare, after all." I stared at the dragon silently, thinking about what exactly Lars was asking me to do. Lars stayed silent as well, shifting a little in stance every few seconds or so, as though he was standing stationary on a bed of hot coals.  
"Could you, like, I don't know, make it look like a puppy, or something less . . . Um, scaly and scary? Because I don't think it's a good idea to leave it with me if I get caught with it." I spoke finally, and Lars deflated in relief, ceasing in his shifting.  
"Yes, of course- silly me, I should've thought of that first." I looked up and Ingrid smiled weakly at me. "What am I supposed to feed it?" I asked awkwardly as the dragon's form shimmered in my lap and turned into a tiny puppy, golden and fluffy.   
"She usually likes raw fish, but dog chow should work just fine as long as she's in this form." Ingrid told me as the dragon/puppy stretched. "Thank you so much, Becky. I wish you the best of luck, little one." I smiled a little at the nickname. "It's, uh, it's no problem." I told her as she gave me a crushing hug. It was kind of a problem, truth be told. All this stuff going on, and they wanted me to take care of a dragon/dog on top of it? But, still, I accepted. I mean, it wasn't exactly like they were just being lazy. It wasn't like they could take it, even in its puppy form, and take care of it- they didn't have the time or the money to do that. Besides, there were other kids coming who had dogs to bring along, I was sure of that. Who would leave their dogs behind in Lorus during a war using dragons? Teresa, probably, but that was beside the point.  
As Lars and Ingrid left the room, closing the door behind them, the puppy licked my cheek. I realized that a cold tear had fallen down my cheek. "Thanks," I grumbled. I gently patted the dragon/dog's head, gazing at it and trying not to think about what it actually was and what it had done, like, what, a day ago? Lars had turned it into a golden retriever puppy with a collar and no nametag. I played with the thing's soft and floppy ears as it stared at me with its dark brown eyes. "I should probably name you, right? Or something. Maybe I'll just call you Dog." I looked over the little dog. It was a little chubby, though that might've just been a bunch of fluff, with a big head and a long, wagging tail. I couldn't just name it "Dog," or "Fluffy," though, so I tried to think of names that would fit it.   
"Hairy?" I thought aloud, though it seemed more like a question than a decision. "Wait, no. You're a girl, right? Maybe Hairriet." It just stared at me, licking its nose, before wiggling out of my grasp, clawing out of the blankets, and landing headfirst on the floor. I winced, but it made a full recovery and started wandering the room. I grabbed my phone, still watching it out of the corner of my eyes, and got back to the Skype call. "Talkin' shit?" I immediately greeted, to which James snorted. "What took you so long?" Ali asked, and I flipped the camera to show the puppy, who was now sniffing everything in sight.   
"Lars and Ingrid came to say bye." I explained part of the way, a smile growing on my face as they both gawked both in confusion and in awe of the tiny thing's cuteness. "They got you a fucking _puppy_ ‽" James exclaimed. "Where's mine?" Ali immediately inquired. I snorted and flipped the camera back to me.   
"I'll explain everything tomorrow, on the train." I told them. "What train? Tomorrow?" Ali looked confused and James sighed. "Oh, yeah. That's probably what your mom was yelling about. Pa and Dad told me this morning. Everyone in Reyella leaves tomorrow to the mansion by train, along with Haleigh, Chimaera, Sophia, and that little town between Celeste and Haleigh." James explained. "Magenta?" I prompted when he spoke of the little town, and he nodded. "Yeah, Magenta. Who names a town after a crayon color?" I scoffed. "Magenta Munroe, the historical figure. Jesus Chris, James." He smirked a little. "Nah, it's still a crayon color to me. And, the last time I checked, Jesus had nothing to do with the foundation of Lorus." He replied snarkily.  
"Oh my god!" Ali suddenly exclaimed. "Wh--?" "What if there's no food at the mansion except for, like, soup‽ What if the next time we have pizza is in, like, ten years‽ I can't live without hamburgers!" "Oh, _shit_."


	5. ALRIK : V

_Hello, journal._  
 _It's been a day stuck in this stupid cell, so far. You'd think they'd be more accommodating for royalty, but no. It's as though they seek to humble us._  
 _Anyways, I've already been interrogated by the Magenta Police (what a stupid name- what, was "Burgundy" taken?) and Juno is being interrogated right now. If all goes well, we'll be on our way to a safehouse._  
 _Bye, journal._  
I slipped the small notebook back into my coat pocket, watching as Ingimarr played idly with his magic, making tiny green holograms out of boredom. Tiny green butterflies flew all around our cells, turning to mist whenever they touched something solid. I smirked. He was trying harder than most of us to "prove innocence." Bjorn just sulked in his corner and twisted his rings around his fingers, frowning. He didn't quite like this mission as much as he liked the other ones given to us.  
Ingimarr and Bjorn were fraternal twins- that meant they didn't look alike. In almost everyone's opinion, Ingimarr was the better-looking one. They both had boyish, young faces. Ingimarr's face and jaw were a little slimmer, whereas Bjorn kind of looked like a blockhead. They both had fair noises- in that respect, from what I'd been told of our parents, Ingimarr had our mother's nose, and Bjorn our father's- and the same green eyes. All three of us had black hair.   
However, the main of Bjorn that people noticed were his pointy, asymmetrical, bushy eyebrows. We weren't actually sure which side of the family those came from. Ingimarr, however, had thin eyebrows that required little-to-no plucking or trimming. Truly, they were nice eyebrows.  
The real different between the twin, though, was that, though they were both fairly attractive and equally capricious and evil, Ingimarr had only half of Bjorn's wit and charm. That, and Bjorn was also gay. Ingimarr was a bumbling idiot of a bisexual boy.   
Edvald hummed along to some made-up tune in the the fourth corner of our cell while a sniffling noise could be heard from behind my ear.   
Edvald, like Ingimarr, had a slim face, though it seemed disproportionately long and with a large forehead above his thick brown brows and hazel eyes, disappearing below his stringy dark brown head of hair. It usually didn't look like one of Alan Rickman's wigs, but because he couldn't bring any hair product along with him on this mission, he looked like hell. In fact, almost all of us looked like hell (not me, of course). In all honesty, Edvald looked like a horse from birth. Sorry, but I'm not actually very sorry.   
I heard more sniffling, louder this time. "Annalise." Bjorn snapped, agitated, and the sniffling immediately quieted, her noises stifled by her hand. Bjorn went back to fidgeting with his rings. Annalise, my older sister, had probably always been a crybaby. I didn't know if she actually had been though, because when she was born, unlike the rest of us, our step-grandfather on our mother's side got to her first. No one knows what might've happened to prepare her for life with the Shadow King, but it clearly wasn't enough.  
Her black hair fell in her face most of the time, often getting stuck to her cheeks, most likely because they were completely covered with tears. She usually looked like a horror movie villain with all her dainty features obscured by her rat's nest of hair. You could almost never see her eyes- I only knew what color they were because I saw a servant try to brush her hair once and the sea-blue eyes widened at the sight of herself in the mirror. If she cleaned up, like, once or twice, though, she'd be conventionally pretty enough to get any boy she wanted.   
I heard Olga shifting in her spot and sighing. She was the eldest of my full siblings, only 22 or so. None of us knew our birthdays, so none of us were completely sure, but the Shadow King believes he got the years right. Anyways, no matter what you did to make Olga look pretty (according to everyone else, at least), she would spit in your face and change back, or she would just stay ugly and look at you all smug. She had choppy black hair that looked like a kindergartner did her barbering, electrifying blue-green eyes, and several self-administered piercings that had probably gotten infected several times because of what a slob she was. She looked like Gerard Way on steroids, emo to the max, but with a thinner face and dead eyes. Essentially, my full-blooded sisters were unattractive.  
Or, maybe just those two. Alice and Elina didn't look too terrible, I suppose. Elina looked like a fairy godmother sometimes. She had bright red hair, pretty much comically orange as a carrot, which was sleek and shiny from constant brushing. She had forest green eyes and a slightly crooked nose (since Bjorn broke it one time when she was being whhiny), and a narrow face with elegant cheekbones.  
Alice usually looked like a fairy goddaughter princess. She had mousy brown hair with an overall mousy face and soft brown eyes and freckles splashed across her face. Her jaw was a little stronger than Elina's, but she still looked pretty.   
Then there was Cicero, with hair so short and clothes so baggy that she looked like the son of a farmer rather than the royal daughter of Drakon. She had eyes the same color as her dark brown hair and chubby cheeks. No matter how much anyone tried to brush her hair, it would still never lay flat. She almost looked like Edvald's twin, Fabius.  
Fabius, like Annalise, was a weakling. A crybaby. A pansy. A pushover. A coward. A softie. A doormat. A wuss. Whatever you wanted to call him. He didn't even look anything like Edvald. He had a round face and round green eyes and hair that still covered his forehead, even in tight curls.  
Finally, Juno had returned from her interrogation, hands cuffed, and was brought to her cell and practically thrown in. The rusty hinges squealed as the escorting officer quickly slammed the door shut again and locked it, eyes wide. Juno fell to her knees but smiled. Juno was probably the youngest-looking one of us in the group, but was actually a year older than Olga. She used magic to keep herself young by order of the Shadow King, and often claimed to be only eleven to get away with everything she could, but there was no mistaking the malevolent sparkle in her eye, even if you were blinded by the shine of her "innocent" little smile.  
The Shadow King was smart to try and keep her looking so young. The baby fat on her cheeks, her black hair pulled in pigtail braids, and her doe-brown eyes were a great combination for a cover. No one would ever suspect her. She was sweet like candy-covered razors.   
I heard the police officers speaking amongst themselves, casting nervous glances over at the rarely-used cells we were in every once in a while as if they were hoping we would all just disappear.  
Bjorn smirked darkly to himself, continuing to twist his rings around. Then, he began to speak in fluent Russian.  
" _What did you tell them, sister? They seem so nervous, like we're going to blow up before their very eyes._ " He teased, and she continued to beam in our directions.   
" _I told them only what they needed to hear, brother. That I speak little English, that we are the youngest of the Shadow King's offspring, and that if they do not protect us in this war, there will be dire consequences for their actions_." I let a smirk of my own grow as the police officers stared over at us. In a heavy Russian accent, I spoke to them. "You help us, yes?" I could tell Ingimarr was trying not to piss himself. None of us were truly Russian, Drakon had nothing to do with Russia, even remotely, but because Drakon was possibly more guarded than North Korea, they'd never know we were bullshitting them.  
One of the officers blankly stared over at us and fingered the trigger of his gun out of restless nerves. Finally, one of them spoke up. She was pretty, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She looked almost hopeful. What a pity. She stepped forward, her amber eyes slightly wide. Her black ponytail swished behind her head and she brushed a bit of her hair off of her smooth, dark skin. "Yes, we will help you and your siblings, Mr. Drakon."  
I smiled wider. "Excellent."


	6. JAMES : VI

Theo, Eli and I basically woke up at the asscrack of dawn to catch this damn stupid train. Okay, more like 5 AM. But, really, what's the difference? And couldn't they have waited a couple of ours before waking everyone up with sirens and shit?   
When we got to the train, most people were just getting on immediately, so it was a bit easier to spot Becky and Ali standing off to the side by a column in the station. Upon reaching them, I yawned right in their faces. "Nice one, _James_." Becky said sarcastically, waving a hand in front of her nose. "Did you even brush your teeth?" She wrinkled her nose. I shrugged. "Only for like, thirty seconds. I didn't have a lot of time." I said, slightly more bitter on the second sentence. The reality of the situation wasn't really hitting me yet; I could hear parents crying as they hugged their children and bid them good-bye, I could hear babies and small children wailing as they were ripped away from their families, I could hear all of it-- yet, it still didn't seem real to me. " _So_ \--" I cut myself off when I spotted something odd. I saw, like, a billion kids all grouped together, and they all looked fairly similar. I squinted. Okay, so it was more like over twenty. But who would have more than twenty kids. One of them winked at me. She was a girl with long blonde hair and somehow sinister dimples. Then, she disappeared into the train. Weird.  
"Ignore him, he's been doing that for the past thirty minutes. I'm sure he'll snap out of it soon. Come on, let's go find some seats before all the good ones are taken." I heard Theo sigh and I snapped out of my temporary daze, my brows furrowed. "What? Guys, I just saw a bunch of kids--" "Oh, did you now? I see a lot of kids too. There are kids everywhere." Elias said with a deadpan expression. "Hm, I wonder why." Theo continued dryly. I rolled my eyes.   
"Whatever, let's go find some seats." Becky and Ali looked at me weirdly, and I just shrugged before turning and heading to the train. Dad and Pa had already said their goodbyes. In fact, they were already gone. My heart sank slightly. It was slowly hitting me that I wouldn't see them again for a long time. I gathered up my blanket and travel pillow more tightly in my arms before glancing at Becky's backpack- had she brought the puppy with her? Was that even allowed on the train? I didn't know, but at the same time, I didn't really care. I just wanted to know how she got it.   
Or I wanted to know, really, anything. I wanted to distract myself from the fact that my parents were going to be sent to a boot camp and yelled at and forced to train even if it snapped them completely. Thinking about it, even in just the back of my mind, gave me anxiety.   
As we passed a few compartments, I saw the weird girl again, sitting with a few of the other kids. All of them had light blonde hair. I was close enough to see that her eyes were a piercing green. We locked eyes. I shivered and continued to move down the train, looking away. Usually, if anyone made eye contact with me, I'd want to fight them, but there was something about her . . . She just seemed blank, like an empty canvas. And I don't like blank people.  
We finally found a compartment and I dived in before anyone else could, only to find that there was already someone else in there- two someone elses. I made awkward eye contact with the guy. He was slender, even looking tall while sitting, and had fairly messy dark brown hair with lighter brown eyes and a thin face. The girl sitting across from him had shoulder-length blonde hair and a strong jaw, pouty lips and green eyes. The guy raised one hand, smiling passively. "Hi." He greeted, and I raised a brow, looking over my shoulder at the others. Theo shrugged and pushed past me, smiling charmingly at the boy. "Hi. I'm Theodosia Stark. Call me Theo." Ever the social butterfly, she completed her greeting with a flutter of her eyelashes. He continued to smile in the same way, somehow unfazed. "Samuel Osborne. Call me Sam. This," he gestured to the girl across from him, who nodded to the rest of us unenthusiastically, "is June Branson. Who are your friends, Theo?" "Um . . ." Becky murmured behind me. "Maybe we can find another one? What if they're sticklers for the rules and report us or something?" She whispered to Ali and I, and I slowly backed out of the compartment.  
"Sorry, this is Becky and she's kinda claustrophobic. We'll see you when we get off the train?" Ali spoke to Sam, June, Theo and Eli, and Sam nodded softly. "Of course. I hope you feel better soon, Becky." He kept his smile. "I look forward to meeting you." He continued, and I flashed a smile before getting out of the compartment quickly and going to find another one. "Jesus, Becky, open your bag. Can the thing even breathe?" I asked, both agitated and anxious before ducking into another compartment- luckily, an empty one. "It's open already! And she's fine, she's sleeping." Becky exclaimed before taking her bag off and sitting down, opening it up. Sure enough, there was a tiny puppy sound asleep on top of some blankets. I sighed in relief.   
"Okay, now, where'd you get her?" Becky looked bewildered at the sudden question. "I already told you, Lars and Ingrid found her. But . . ." Ali raised both eyebrows. "'But' what?" She paused at Ali's question. "She's kind of . . . not . . . a dog."  
I stared at her for a few moments. "What is it then, a pipe bomb?" I asked sarcastically. She sighed. "Remember what Lars did at the school a couple days ago?" She asked hesitantly.  
"Yeah, he killed the dragon, right?" Ali raised a brow. Becky shook her head. "Lars used magic to reverse its aging. It turned into an egg. And yesterday . . ." My eyes widened. "That's a fucking dragon?" I was suddenly horrified at the sight of it and scooted away. She sighed again, exasperated.  
"Lars turned it into a dog so it would be less conspicuous." She explained. "He's not going to spit fire or any--" "Why the fuck did Lars give you a fucking dragon?" I asked, confused and slightly hacked off. "He wanted me to protect it!" "It tried to kill us, though, so." Ali scooted back again, lifting one of the dragon/dog's tiny ears a little.  
"Dude, you're not a god damn Greek heroine. Just dump it." Becky shot me a look that just said 'no, motherfucker,' and in that moment, I knew I wasn't convincing her to leave it behind. "I want to protect it. And besides, since it's a dog now, it'll be easier to take care of." I threw my arms up in surrender. "Fine."  
We sat in silence for a few moments. "How long do you think this is gonna last? The war, I mean." Ali asked quietly, leaning forward with his elbows placed just behind his knees.  
"I don't know." I answered truthfully. Becky said nothing, just looking at the dog. "What should I name her?" She asked, eager to change the topic though her voice was still soft and quiet. Ali raised a brow. "You haven't named her yet?" Becky shrugged. "I haven't come up with one yet." She replied. "Name her 'James.'" I replied immediately, and Becky rolled her eyes. "Shut up." I smirked slightly at her automatic response.  
"Okay, fine, what about 'Percy'?" "'Ali' sounds like a girl's name." Becky paused for a moment. "I like Percy." There was another bout of silence. Percy whined in her sleep, ears twitching, and Becky gently patted her belly.   
"Hey, do you think we'll be in Halen?" Ali inquired, eager to keep the conversation going. Becky shook her head. "Probably not. Lorus and Halen aren't close anymore." She answered. "True." I said in agreement. Halen, like Drakon, used to be a part of Lorus until Lorus split into parts. While Drakon cut off all communication from its people, Halen still stayed in touch. Unluckily, things got a little rough a couple hundred years ago, and the conflict was resolved like thirty years ago. Nobody really knew whether it was trading or something else that made things turn south temporarily, but things were still a little rough now, for whatever reason. Because of Halen's conception, how it split away from Lorus, the trust was like a crumpled piece of paper- it probably would never be perfect again.  
"I heard the guys in Halen are pretty hot." Becky spoke idly, still stroking Percy's fur. I made a face. "Um, we look perfectly fine in Lorus, thanks." I said, pretending to be offended as Ali laughed.   
"They're Gucci, James." She continued to tease. "Yeah, well I happen to be the best in Walmart and they're probably the worst in their own brand, so." Ali continued to laugh. Maybe things at the mansion wouldn't be completely horrible. I was going to have my friends, I was going to have my brother and sister, and Pa and Dad were going to video chat as often as they could (every night seemed like a bit of a stretch, but I knew they would try their best).   
Maybe I would even find someone. You know, since everyone from Lorus was coming, there had to be at least one person who was interested in cynical assholes. That was just logic.   
Maybe not everything would be so terrible. Of course, I wasn't usually this optimistic, especially when there was a war brewing, but I couldn't just survive on bitterness and pessimism (I would never say that aloud, though, so). Becky scratched behind Percy's ears softly and I reached out to touch the puppy. "What adults do you think are going to be there?" Ali asked. I snorted. "It would be just our luck if it was Ms. Johnson." Becky choked on a laugh. "It would be, wouldn't it?" "I honestly can't imagine her attempting to go to any type of boot camp. She'd probably cry." Ali burst out laughing at the thought, and I cracked a grin.  
Suddenly, a knock came at the compartment door. I threw my blanket over Percy immediately and put my travel pillow on my neck, immediately pretending to go to sleep as Becky closed her eyes and leaned back and Ali curled into a ball against his seat, eyes closing as well. The compartment door open and I heard someone snort.  
"Look at them, Edmund." My eyes cracked open just barely. It was the blonde girl again, joined by one of her siblings, as I assumed. "So young, so innocent. They're not ready." What was she talking about? The war? And she was like, the same age as us. What did she mean "innocent"? I mean, clearly, she knew nothing about us, because we were far from that.  
"Yes, I see, Reina, dear." "Dear"? What were they, married? Gross. They sounded like some old, aristocratic couple. I could tell Becky was trying hard to not wear her emotions plainly on her face. I was trying too. I couldn't even see Ali's face, though, so he was probably having less trouble, since he probably didn't need to hide his emotions.  
"Let's move, Reina . . . They have many things coming for them . . . And I want them to get their rest . . . So that they will be wide awake for all of it." The compartment door closed and they moved away soon enough, their footsteps fading as they walked down the carpeted hall back to their own compartment. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Percy stirred in Becky's lap.  
"What the fuck was that?" Ali asked immediately as Becky took my blanket off her lap and tossed it back, staring at the door and looking like a Gavin meme. "Fuckin' weirdos." She muttered.  
"They obviously don't know us, they said we were 'innocent.'" I chipped into the conversation, but none of us really felt like laughing.  
"It sounded like they wanted to blow the place up, or something." Ali noted.   
"Can we turn them into puppies too?" I asked rhetorically and Becky just shook her head. "No, but I'm pretty sure this place should be secure enough that they'll pat us down or something before letting us in." She guessed.   
"'Should be.' How comforting." Ali sighed.  
For the rest of the train ride- which took for-fucking-ever, by the way (like four hours)- I heard Becky and Ali talk, probably about the assholes who entered our compartment and watched us "sleep." I just stared out the window, switching with Ali for the window seat after about thirty minutes. I wasn't really listening to what they were saying, and I think they knew. Usually, I'd gladly talk about weird shit and weird people and whatever I wanted to gossip about, but this was just . . . Too weird for me, at that moment. It wasn't that great to think about it or its meaning either, really. It could only mean something bad was coming our way, and given that our lives were already depressing enough at the moment, I wasn't in the mood for brooding about it. Besides, the people who said all that shit were only our age. Whatever they were planning would probably never happen. They were probably hyping themselves up because neither of them had the balls to do it. Probably.  
When we got to the other train station, we were loaded into some tour buses that smelled like feet. Because Ms. Johnson was, in fact, on our tour bus, I made my complaints heard several times, watching in satisfaction as she gritted her teeth. It kept me amused until we got to the mansions.   
Now, I don't know what these things were originally for, but I'm pretty sure they weren't meant for kids to live in. The only thing I could think of to describe these mansions with is "Mount Olympus on steroids." And it was, really.  
It had pretty nice Greek-looking architecture, from what I knew about architecture, and it blew us all away. There were twelve different mansions, each of them, like, eight stories tall, from the looks of them. They looked like upgraded, marble versions of my high school before the dragon torched the atrium and the stairwells. Even though there looked to be a fuckton of rooms in the place, I could tell a few of us would need roommates. I mean, every fucking kid in Lorus was coming to this place (besides the babies and elementary school kids) and I had searched how many teenagers lived in Lorus and teenagers made up over 10% of our population. So, there were like at least 20 hundred-thousand kids (yeah, I'm smart? (to be fair, I also used a calculator, but it was like 2 AM and I couldn't sleep. 2 AM isn't a good time for math (no time is a good time for math).)) coming to these mansions.   
Our tour bus stopped in front of one of the mansions- the marble encasing the outside of the mansion was white, with a pattern that reminded me of the texture of vanilla ice cream. Despite several adults telling us to slow down, everyone else in the tour bus immediately stampeded for the door and spilled out of the doors like water out of a knocked over bottle. Lorus was a relatively small country, and I always forgot how many people lived in our borders. About twelve other buses pulled up, containing the other Reyella kids, I assumed, though obviously not all of them. They'd need about 20 more buses if that was the case. As the buses began to peel away, the adults now outside of them as well, I realized they were going back for the others. I felt slightly bad for the kids who had to stay back. Slightly.  
Ms. Johnson and a few other adults struggled to get to the front of the crowd. The buzz of chatter filled the air, and when I looked to some of the other compounds, I saw kids from other cities and towns opening their curtains to look down at us. "QUIET!" Ms. Johnson yelled through a megaphone given to her by a different adult. There were dark circles under her eyes and her mouth was tight. I smirked slightly. Everyone soon fell silent, though I heard a few groans here and there.  
"THIS WILL BE OUR HOME UNTIL THE WAR AGAINST OFFICIALLY ENDS. THIS MIGHT BE A LONG TIME. THE ONLY TIME ANY OF YOU WILL LEAVE THIS MANSION IS IF YOU ARE ENLISTED, WHICH WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU ARE TWENTY-FIVE IF THIS WAR DOES NOT END BEFORE THEN. THIS PLACE WAS BUILT BY OUR GOVERNMENT, OUR GREAT PROTECTORS OF LORUS, TO HIDE US. ANY DESTRUCTION OF ANY PROPERTY IN THESE COMPOUNDS IS VANDALISM AND YOU WILL BE ARRESTED. THE LAW STILL EXISTS IN AND OUT OF THESE COMPOUNDS. WE WILL BE WATCHING YOU. BE RESPONSIBLE." She paused, leaning over to inquire something of the woman next to her, and when the other woman replied grimly, Ms. Johnson grimaced. "YOU MAY CHOOSE YOUR OWN ROOMS AND ROOMMATES. YOU ALL HAVE THREE BEDS IN EACH ROOM. THE MOVING TRUCKS WILL ARRIVE TOMORROW." I could tell most of the people next to me were getting agitated that she was taking so long. "YOU MAY ALL FIND YOUR ROOMS. NO RUNNING." She bellowed before putting the megaphone down and marching straight in, followed by a sea of agitated and anxious teenagers and college students eager to find their rooms. "Welcome to hell." Ali murmured beside me, and Becky sighed in agreement.


	7. BECKY : VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scene Where All Ships Are Made

A few hours passed and Ali and I became roommates (yay!), situated next to James, Theo and Eli's room, which we heard James literally fight for. If I didn't hear the other guy swearing and running away with his girlfriend, I would've thought James killed a man. June and Sam, the people we barely met on the train, were in the room next to us on the other side. I was watching as Percy sniffed around the new room before slowing climbing up onto the middle bed between mine and Ali's and curling up, yawning and closing her eyes.   
"How is she still tired?" Ali asked, looking at the puppy incredulously. I shrugged. "Probably just overstimulated. I did some research last night and puppies usually spend most of their time sleeping." I answered boredly, swinging my legs in the air a little and leaning my chin on my palm, holding myself up with my elbows. "I wish I could sleep that much." He remarked and I nodded in agreement. "We'd miss a lot more bullshit if we did."   
Suddenly, the door slammed open. I heard Theo hiss at James to be careful and James just shook his head and barged straight in, scaring the crap out of Percy, who peed out of excitement. "Ew, gross- anyways, sorry guys, but there's something happening in the atrium." James spoke quickly, and Ali groaned. "Jesus, James, it's like 11 PM, can it wait? It's probably just a stupid fight." "It isn't. There are new people. They aren't from Lorus." I shot up out of bed.   
"You mean they aren't from Reyella, right?" I asked, incredulous that outsiders would be allowed into the Lorus protection compounds. "No, they aren't from Lorus, Becks." Ali jumped off his bed, pulling on a shirt, and immediately starting for the door. Once I realized exactly what this meant, I jumped up as well, my bare feet slapping the floor along with hundreds of other pairs as everyone else thundered down the stairs.   
I stopped at a window on the staircase, seeing tiny figures, no bigger than ants at the height we were at, unloading people from the back of a truck the size of my thumbnail (at that height, everything looked ridiculously small- I was glad I didn't have a fear of heights, honestly). Then, someone shoved me into the crowd ahead of me, and I got moving again, my face slightly flushed when James and Ali caught me. My heart pounded as I looked through another window while running past. Theo grabbed my hand when I nearly fell again, and Eli grabbed hers. "Who ARE they?" I shouted over the din, and Theo shook her head. "No one knows!" We passed another window and I saw at least a dozen or so people all standing in a line in the middle of the field between all of the mansions. I kept running with everyone else. We passed another window and I saw all the other kids in the other mansions pressed up against the windows, watching as we ran and he outsiders approached.   
Once we reached the ground floor, I heard the chaos before I saw it. Ms. Johnson evidently had the megaphone again, but nobody seemed to be listening to her. "BACK TO YOUR ROOMS! EVERYONE, BACK TO BED! **LIGHTS OUT**!" She screamed, but the crowd kept pushing, spreading out to encompass every inch of the atrium. Slowly, James, Ali, Theo, Eli and I were pushed to the front of the crowd, propelled by everyone behind us. I saw Sam and June in the corner of my eye, but they weren't what caught my eye.   
A few yards away, the entrance doors opened, while the crowd completely stilled. The whole room seemed to hold its breath. My heart was either beating so fast I couldn't feel it, or it had completely stopped. The outsiders were escorted in by the biggest guards I'd ever seen. The outsiders had clothes that were tattered and dirty, like they'd been homeless for the past few weeks after their house was thrown in a paper shredder. Every one of them had a black cloth pillowcase over their head, which made me feel more at ease. Another guard walked in, more petite than the rest, less brutish, but carried herself in a way that let everyone know she was in charge. She took Ms. Johnson's megaphone as the other woman stood in stunned silence, and cleared her throat.   
"Attention, inhabitants of the Jynnie safehouse:" She paused, pulling out a piece of paper out from behind her bulletproof vest before resuming, "the children of Drakon's leader, the Shadow King/Lord, have come to Lorus seeking asylum." Okay, my heart was definitely still working. I exchanged a few glances with James, Ali, Theo, Eli, even Sam and June. Even if we had different outlooks, different families, different personalities, we all seemed to smell that this was a little fishy. We stayed silent as the leading officer continued.   
"They have come for the same reason you have: safety. They _will_ be treated with respect, and they will treat you with respect in return." She looked up from the tiny piece of paper and nodded to her fellow officers. One by one, the hoods were removed.   
First, a woman in the front of the line- her eyes were a gray-blue, from what I could see, and her hair was short, messy and dark. She looked like she had around ten individual piercings on her face, but I wasn't sure, because as soon as her hood was removed, she was steered off to the staircase, walked right past Ali. The crowd parted and I heard a few gasps from the other kids when she let out a guttural snarl, like a dog.   
The next was another girl, this one younger, and shorter, but also with messy and short hair, dark brown in color, and a little stringy. She looked sullen as she was prodded to move every two seconds, when she already was. I almost felt bad for her, but I was still recovering and only just truly realizing what was going on.   
Another girl had her hood taken off. She had delicate features, like a porcelain doll, and she carried herself with dignity, somehow still intact, after being shoved in a truck with a bag over her head and being forced to walk past everyone. Her light brown hair swished over her shoulders and her light brown eyes were trained on the ceiling as she was walked past them with her guard.   
The next Drakonic heir walked up, and the hood was removed to reveal a scared-looking young boy with excessive brown curls on his head and spring green eyes. His split lower lip wobbled as he moved past us. A small girl stepped up. She looked to only be eleven or twelve in physique, but when her hood was removed, the look of pure hatred in her eyes made me almost shiver. I felt like her eyes were on me even as she walked past the rest of the crowd.   
The next girl was a pitiful sight. When the hood came off, a fair bit of her long, black hair was stuck to her pale cheeks. Her eyes were red and swollen from what I assumed had been copious amounts of crying. She sniffled and stumbled twice on her way to the stairs. I knew because I heard. I felt less uneasy after seeing most of their faces- they didn't seem as bad as we all thought that they would be. For the most part, they actually seemed just as scared as the rest of us were- they really seemed like they were just looking for help from us. Even the hate the smallest one held in her eyes could've been fear. Truthfully, I would've been scared _shitless_ if I was put in a compound full of people who were enemies only a couple of days before.   
The next girl's hood was removed like the rest of them, and her hair was as bright orange as a fresh carrot, with eyes the color of green-tinted shattered glass, like a broken beer bottle. She kept her gaze on the ground as she passed, thought I could've sworn her eyes glowed for a moment as she did. This made me feel uneasy.  
Another guy had his makeshift pillowcase hood removed, revealing a youthful face. There was something off about him- he seemed . . . wrong. He smiled and winked as he passed, which I automatically assumed was directed at Theo.   
When the next guy's face was revealed, I had a feeling of dread as soon as I looked at him. He looked like if Hades had a son- slimy-looking, stringy hair, and a smile that made my skin crawl. Ali let out a soft noise and covered his mouth as I elbowed him in the ribs. I mean, yeah, the ruggedly handsome thing applied to this other guy, but I didn't get what Ali was moaning about until I saw how low the rip in the guy's shirt went. As he walked past, he brushed his hand against Ali's. Whether it was on accident or not, I was certain he knew. I suppressed a smirk.  
The second-to-last guy's hood was removed, and I swear this dude had two furry caterpillars above his eyes. But, even though I thought he was pretty unappealing, I felt James stiffen next to me, even when he hadn't reacted to any of the other heirs. Caterpillars locked eyes with James, gave him an unsettling smirk, and then started moving. I guessed something else had stiffened, because when the last guy's hood was pulled off, he was still standing straight. This last guy made me realize just how quiet the room really had been, before I heard a murmur behind me of ' _holy shit_.' I could hear static from the megaphone. I could hear ringing in my ears.   
We locked eyes, and when I stared at his icy blue irises, when I looked into him, I saw the world end. I could see him standing in the wasteland of our planet, perched on top of a snow drift like a bird. I could see his lips frozen in a smile. I saw all of this in his electric blue irises and pitch black pupils. I faltered, and he didn't. His lips curled into a smile. Despite knowing none of them knew who he was either, I still found myself whispering, "Who is that?" In a tiny voice, my eyes still locked with his. Something in my pounding heart told me to look away, but that only helped me refuse. This is what he wanted me to do. He wanted to scare me. He wanted me to cower. I wasn't going to. What was so scary about him anyways? The longer I looked at him, though, the more I came up with in the back of my mind. I felt James shift in his stance beside me. "Trouble." Theo flipped her hair idly as the last guy walked past.  
"Cute name." She snorted. James shook his head and I looked over at him as the rest of the crowd began to disperse, chattering to themselves. "I can't get a read on any of them. It's like they're . . . Hidden." I furrowed my brow. "Or maybe you only thought you had telepathy that time we jinxed eachother 7 times in the same day." Eli suggested, but Theo shook her head. "No, no . . . Logically, Drakon would be made up of mostly witches, since they accepted no one who wasn't when the country was founded, and they haven't let anyone else in since then. They'd probably know how to mentally protect themselves by now." "But why? Why don't they trust us?" Sam asked, frowning. "Maybe they need to meet us first." June suggested.   
"Or maybe they're lying." I spoke quietly. Ali immediately shook his head. "They wouldn't. You can't lie to the police. Even if you're from another country. They're just freaky-looking, that's all. Maybe back in Drakon they get mental blocks placed on them to protect them. We don't know." He said, trying to reassure me, but I just didn't know. After the incident on the train, I felt myself slowly becoming more paranoid. The new arrivals didn't help with that.  
"Okay," I agreed outwardly. That was when I decided; I was going to find out what they wanted. I was going to find out what they were really here for. And then I would shut them down, or die trying.


	8. ALRIK : VIII

_Hey, journal._  
 _Was finally able to freshen up today. My hair smells like artificial strawberries now. Adorable. Will update if anything interesting happens._  
 _Bye, journal._  
I put the pen down on my nightstand then tucked my journal beneath my pillow. I was wearing fresh clothes of my own choice: a black v-neck (say what you want, I liked to give my collar some air), black jean, and combat boots with a new black coat.  
I pulled up the collar of the coat as I looked in the mirror, pulling it all the way. I cracked a smile after a moment. It was ridiculous. I looked like Dracula. I tucked the collar back into its original place and zipped up the coat to my shirt's neckline and smoothed it all out before walking out of my room, slipping a pocketknife in my coat pocket.   
Ingimarr had stolen every weapon he could find on the children last night, and I would've preferred something more stable, but I was fairly certain these sheltered children knew nothing about weapons, and what made a good weapon, so I wasn't expecting him to find any real treasures. As disappointing as it was, I was still glad to be right.  
I had gotten no sleep the previous night, and it showed, but it didn't matter much to me. I was ugly anyways. In fact, it probably helped my case. I was supposed to look wounded, scared, emotionally vulnerable- though, I'm sure I mostly came off as smug, which I was, very much so. Smug, because Father's plan worked. Smug, because everyone I looked upon last night had faces and minds clouded with fear. Not so smug, because I hadn't previously realized, I'd have to deal with all the attention I was receiving because of my little ripple in the big, stagnant pond.   
Apparently, my charm had worked, and even worked a little too well, and my malevolent gaze had done more than scare. To say the least, I wasn't used to this, and it was very hard to not let it get to my head. Usually, I had only myself to lie to about my lack of attractive features. I mean, really. When I smiled, I looked like the villain of a Christmas movie. I had a head that looked like a pentagon-shaped box. I might as well have had a bowl cut, because it really didn't look that much better than one, in my opinion. The only good parts, in my opinion, were my eyes.   
My orbs. My pools. My baby blues. Those were the real gems, the diamonds in the rough. I guess that was probably what sold the boys and girls Ingimarr was telling me about- or maybe he was just fluffing up my ego. I was supposed to be a prince in their eyes, after all.   
I practically danced my way down the stairs, which probably annoyed several already miserable people. It seemed like the only ones who weren't miserable were me, some of my siblings, my half-siblings, and the other royals of Drakon.   
Once I reached the atrium, I immediately saw her- my betrothed, Reinette Alexander. She was also Drakon royalty, but not all of the royal family was related. To put it simply- there was more than one line of royalty. There were actually three. The Alexanders, half of whom I was half related to. The Lancasters, none of whom was I related to. The Drakons, half of whom were the Alexanders, and half that were like me- bastards. Well, not exact halves, but close enough, I figured. The Alexanders were children of the Queen, while the Drakons were children of the King and the Lancasters were not of any royal blood- they were often the first in their lines. So, at least we all had some options. Or, rather, the King and Queen did.   
The Alexanders and Lancasters had been sent in under the radar by the King and Queen, claiming they were from Halen. When the trains took them, they claimed to be from Reyella. The rest of us could have been sent the same way, but our Father claimed it would be better to send us as fugitives, to keep the Lorusians on their toes. In all honesty, I believed I knew the real reason why. The others, they all born by or chosen by a powerful woman. The Alexanders had a very powerful mother. The Queen, in fact. She never cared for the King's bastard children, which is what we were. Of course, there were a few she liked, but she hated me and my full siblings the most, though Juno was a close second. It wouldn't have surprised me if she was the one to suggest the idea to him. After all, she hated us, and she was also Reina's mother. Reina had to have gotten her snottiness from somewhere.   
No, I didn't like Reina very much, though we were betrothed. She was generally very shallow and rather stupid. She was beautiful, but lacking in personality what she had in looks. She smiled in my direction, but it wasn't a warm smile. She had never been particularly warm or kind to anyone, really. No, this was a pale imitation of her mother's permanent cold and calculating smirk. She looked almost like a lioness. But Reina looked like a lion cub. She had no idea what she was doing. She had been trained for sixteen years, and she still wasn't enough. Sad, really.  
I smirked back at her before I heard a conversation behind me that piqued my interest. "Look, Becky, he's dressed like you." I heard a snicker. "Shut up, Ali." Came Becky's retort, almost immediately to Ali's dry remark. Ooh, she was a snappy one. He snorted in reply to her snap. I glanced over to see a particular girl from the other night who caught my eye.   
Now, I didn't mean to sound like a dick, but apparently, thinking aloud that maybe a girl with skin the color of toilet paper might have had some self-esteem issues I could work work with, according to Cicero, is exactly what a dick does. Oh, well.  
I wasn't going to lie, just because she was unnaturally pale, like a sheet of printer paper, didn't mean she wasn't able to be pretty. All I was pointing out was that, with the meanness of the current generation of children, and with the promoted self-gate, she probably didn't know it. But despite her being fairly attractive, I wasn't quite sure why I was so drawn to her. Perhaps she was one of the very rare Witches in Lorus . . . Or . . .   
No, I though, cutting off my train of thought- or attempting to. I was not going to attempt to make friends. I was not going to sympathize with these people. That wasn't why Father sent us. Father sent us to kill. Father sent us to take over.   
Becky looked down as soon as I turned to face them. Too slow, I thought. Too obvious. Was she scared? The thought was flattering, actually. No one had ever been afraid of me before. It was always me who was afraid of others, ironically. Toying with the idea of making someone's heart beat faster by just walking into a room was oddly satisfying. "Oh, shit, he's looking over here." Ali, the brown-haired, doe-eyed boy, I recognized him by voice and face. There was another boy sitting next to them- the one Bjorn had called dibs on. Edvald had gotten Ali. I still hadn't chosen yet, and frankly, I didn't actually want to choose. I would have to kill all of them later anyways, along with them. What was the point of getting so carelessly attached to these inferior creatures, these Gifted beings? We were Witches. According to Father, we deserved better.   
The boy next to Becky and Ali stared at me head on. Good for Bjorn. He went straight for the challenge round. "No shit, Ali. Now, look away." I heard Becky murmuring, and James broke eye contact, only for a moment. I took this as an invitation. I walked over, a smile playing on my lips. I tried more for shark-like than neighborly, but either I failed, or they were very good at acting. Becky and Ali looked up, seeming to realize I wasn't moving away when I stopped right in front of them. I stared straight at Becky, and she didn't break the contact; she didn't even blink.   
"Um, hi." Ali spoke, sounding rather sheepish. Perhaps he figured out I heard him. I decided to go with reassuring rather than confronting. "Hello. I am Alrik, and you?" I focused my gaze on each other them in turn. Ali sighed in relief. "Oh, Russian," He spoke, but Becky didn't seem so convinced. "How did you communicate with those police officers if you can't speak English and you have a mind block?" She spoke sharply, and I furrowed my brow in pretend thought, before finally saying in the strongest accent I could muster, "My sister. Knows English a little she does. Talked to them." I noticed the other boy seemed particularly focused on me, like if he stared at me hard enough, I would burst into flames. Telepath, I thought, suddenly grateful for Edmund's block. He didn't look old enough to have mastered it yet, but looked determined enough to try.  
Ali's face dropped; "So, you understand English, but just can't speak it well?" He inquired, and I nodded, laughing lightheartedly. Becky was staring at me in a way that was similar to the way their friend stared, though her eyes went everywhere, scrutinizing every inch of me, looking for any and every fault. "Distracted?" I spoke again, slightly smug. I knew she wouldn't find anything on me. I was too clean to be caught. Ali tapped Becky's shoulder and she looked up to my eyes again, not even phased by my suggestion, as it seemed. Or, she just didn't hear what I had said.   
"If you negotiated with the police, and they trusted you, and they wanted us to trust you, why would they send you here with a bag over your head?" She asked, and I raised a brow, while Ali gave her a warning look. What made her suspect? "Mistrust in many . . . They seem to not be alone." I remarked in broken English, though I knew she got the message as her cheeks flushed in either anger or embarrassment- or both. I didn't hesitate to reach my hand out, smiling serenely at her as I brushed my fingers against one of her cheeks. "Pretty face . . ." I spoke again, my eyes flickering between her cheeks and her eyes before I pulled away abruptly. The look in her eyes made it clear she wouldn't fall for flattery. I chuckled lowly to myself as I walked away and exited the atrium.


	9. JAMES : IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scene Where James Is In Denial

It was about an hour after Becky's feeble attempt at an interrogation of one of the Drakon brothers- Becky and Ali were having a heated discussion about what would be a better end to the world out of two options, fire and ice, when some sort of speaker system came on and Ms. Johnson's voice came pouring through to our ears, interrupting the debate for a good long minute or two. "ATTENTION, ALL CHILDREN: WE WILL BE HAVING AN ATTACK DRILL IN FIVE MINUTES. IN THE EVENT OF AN ATTACK FROM DRAKON'S ARM FORCES, THE POWER WILL GO OUT, AND I WILL USE THE SPEAKER SYSTEM TO DIRECT YOU ALL TO THE BASEMENT WHERE YOU WILL SIT IN COMPLETE SILENCE. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED WHETHER IT IS A DRILL OR A REAL ATTACK OVER THE SPEAKERS EACH TIME THE LIGHTS GO OUT. THE CHANCES OF THE ENEMY FINDING US AND ATTACKING US ARE ONE IN A MILLION, BUT WE MUST BE PREPARED FOR WHAT MAY COME, NO MATTER HOW IMPROBABLE." The speaker system turned off and everyone in the atrium looked at each other. The chatter had died completely. There were a hundred or so people down here, but after the announcement, you could have heard a pin drop from upstairs.   
As I scanned the atrium, I pretty much saw exactly what I was feeling in everyone else's faces too. That's when I saw him again; the guy with the Nike swoop eyebrows. Becky and Ali thought I nutted the second I saw him, but it wasn't a gay thing. It was normal for guys to find other guys attractive- it was just an observation! My attention to him was a compliment, it wasn't gay. Besides, I'd dated girls, I'd kissed girls, I enjoyed the company of girls; I was the straightest guy to ever straight!   
Eyebrows winked at me. I clenched my jaw and looked away. What an asshole. "So . . ." Becky paused for a moment, looking between the three of us. "How long do you think the drill is gonna last?" She asked, and I was grateful for the change of thought, though getting my mind off that stupid guy took longer than it should have, in my opinion. "I don't know, maybe fifteen minutes?" I responded, looking over at Ali, who was uncharacteristically quiet.   
He stared off in another direction and swallowed dryly, and when I follow his gaze, I saw three of the male Drakons: the one who looked like a baby-man with hazel eyes that had winked at either Becky or my sister, who barely looked any different than he did yesterday; the more innocent-looking one who had eyes the size of plates; and the one who looked like one of Alan Rickman's wigs the other day who was now far more clean and less half naked, and had his hair cleaned and slicked back. He was the one Ali was staring at. How could I tell? He was making blowjob hand motions, puffing out his left cheek to go along with it (his hand and cheek motions were surprisingly in sync) before letting his cheek deflate and his hand drop. He then winked. Ali sighed through his nostrils.   
I sighed loudly and turned Ali's head back to us, my hand on his chin. Becky snorted at the look on his face. "The heirs seem to be making themselves at home awfully quick, aren't they?" She teased, and Ali flushed. "Sorry, what were we talking about, again? The drill? Yeah, I think we might be down there for a bit." Ali grinned, and I hugged.   
"Yeah, I'm sure it'd be great for you and Mr. Sex. We'd probably hear your saliva particles next to our ears when you start swapping." I said sarcastically and Ali shrugged, still smiling. "I don't know, something tells me that you and bushy brows would enjoy some time in the dark too." I stiffened immediately. "I'm straight." Ali stared at me for a long time. "M'kay." He didn't seem to buy it, and judging by her expression, Becky didn't either.   
"I'm straight!" Becky held up her hands in surrender. "I didn't say you weren't, bro!" She exclaimed softly before the lights suddenly died. The speakers turned on once again, and Ms. Johnson shouted into the system.  
"EVERYONE, TO THE BASEMENT! EVERYONE GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT NOW! DROP EVERYTHING AND RUN! NO, DO NOT RUN! I WAS TESTING YOU! WALK TO THE BASEMENT SILENTLY AND IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!" The announcements continued like this the entire time as we walked down to the basement as we were told. Only some of us saw the reason to be silent during a drill, but I was pretty sure that in the real situation, we'd be so traumatized we wouldn't be able to speak even if we wanted to. My heart ached when I realized that my dads were going to have to fight, to face all this evil and look it in the eyes, while I was going to hide. While I already was hiding. I almost felt sick to my stomach when I thought about how, after all their training was done with, they might still not be ready. I tried to shake these thoughts out of my head, but I already felt the tears stinging my eyes.   
Oh, no. I wasn't going to start crying here. I wasn't going to cry in front of everyone. No chance.   
I swallowed the lump in my throat and sat down next to Becky. Ali had already gone off to 'talk' with his Drakon boy, which I didn't even have to look up to know. Good for him. I curled up, putting my knees to my chest and staring irritably at the ground as I still felt the urge to cry.  
"Hello." I heard a thick Russian- or as I now called it, Drakonic- accent sound above me. My head snapped up and I immediately looked to my right only to find that Becky had disappeared and left her spot open the moment I needed her there the most. I looked back up to Mr. Nike swoop. I gave him a bitter smile. "Hi. What do you want?" I asked, more snappy than I intended. He smiled, then pointing to Becky's spot. "I may sit?" His eyes seemed to sparkle. I looked at his lips instead. After that, I decided it was better to just look away. "Yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes as he sat next to me, letting out a sigh, his breath hitting my neck and making my hairs stand up. "Don't, um--" My brain pretty much turned to mush in that moment. "Sorry, too close?" His shoulder brushed against mine. "Um, yeah, a little. Can you scooch to the left?" I asked, practically writhing in my own skin, my stomach twisting in a mix of fear and something else I couldn't quite place- and didn't really want to. He moved closer and I realized my error.  
"I mean, right. A little to the right. Sorry." He exhaled against my neck again and moved away. My heart pounded. Was I claustrophobic? I didn't remember being claustrophobic, but that must have been it. That was the only logical explanation for why I was reacting to him and his close proximity in this way. Claustrophobia and anxiety. "I am Bjorn." He introduced himself, and I looked over at him again. God, his eyes were really nice. Just an observation. "I'm James." His lips curled into what was either a charming smile or a devious smirk.  
"Nice to have meeting you, James." I almost smiled at his broken English, but I suddenly felt inexplicably angry. Then I realized why. How dare he try to seduce me like this? Did he think I was someone to be played with like this? I wasn't even gay! I narrowed my eyes at his charming smile. He might have been stunning and charming, but I wasn't going to buy into it so easily now. He seemed confused by my glare. It didn't help my case because it was actually a very cute emotion on him.   
"I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play here, Drakon, but I'm straight, and . . . " He shook with quiet laughter. I frowned. "What?" I asked, irritated. "I try only talking and you assume the worst of my intentions and me." He replied, grinning as if it was the funniest thing in the world. I flushed, frowning more intensely.   
"I know you're trying to seduce me." I accused of him, and he just continued to smile. "If I _seduce_ you, I would do no talk. I would do things with tongue, better than talk." I stared at him blankly, pretending not to know what he was talking about. "Like this . . ." He murmured, leaning forward and placing a hand on my jaw. His skin was cold, almost startling.   
The speakers turned back on.   
"THE DRILL IS OVER. YOU MAY NOW LEAVE THE BASEMENT AND RETURN TO YOUR REGULAR ACTIVITIES. HAVE A GOOD AFTERNOON." I practically jumped away from the Drakon boy, standing up and straightening my jacket before running out of the room.  
 _What an asshole!_ I was straight, after all . . .


	10. BECKY : X

" _Wow_ ," I shook my head, unable to believe my ears. "I'm serious, Becky. I'm sorry. I want you back." I let out a shaky, bitter laugh as I turned away from Jordan. "You left me for someone else, Jordan, because you thought I was ugly. You're such a _child_. God, I can't believe I wasted my time humoring you." I began to walk away from him, only to feel Jordan grab my arm. "Let go." I turned back to him, my voice firm, eyes already welling with tears. Almost everyone was gone from the basement now, but those who remained didn't seem to notice what was going on. "Not until you listen to me."  
I could've handled the situation myself, and I would've, it if wasn't for the blade pressed to Jordan's throat a second after he spoke those words to me. It was the blue-eyed creep Drakon boy again, obviously. "Go away, I can handle this." I snapped, but he didn't move, having heard my voice crack. He tilted his head, looking from me to Jordan. "Let go of Miss Becky, or I will use this pocket knife to its fullest extent and remove your hands before shoving them down your throat and watching you choke on them." I froze. He still spoke with a heavy accent, but his words were far more eloquent. I didn't hear him falter, not a word of broken English, not even a damn stutter. It was like he'd been reciting that for a week.  
Jordan swallowed, obviously angry, but let go of my arm. I didn't waste a moment. I ran. I didn't know if anyone else saw what happened, and I didn't care; I just wanted to get out of there, and I wanted to tell Ali and James what happened. I saw James also running, but he was going upstairs instead of to the atrium, probably to his room, and thought it confused me, I followed him up anyways. I panted as I caught up to him before he could open his door. When I grabbed his shoulder, he jumped a mile high before turning around.   
"Jesus _Christ_ , Becky, I thought you were--!" I interrupted him immediately, my mind buzzing. " _James_ , you'll never guess what just happened!" He was suddenly paying much more attention to me. "Wait, what?" I quickly pulled out my phone. "I'll tell you when Ali gets here. Seriously, you'll never believe it." Not even two minutes later, Ali was lying on his bed, panting. "This better be good, you pulled me out of something great _too_ quickly." He spoke breathlessly as I jumped on my bed, shoving my phone in my bra as James shut the door to my room behind us.   
"Okay, so, basically, I was talking to Jordan," I paused, seeing Ali giving me a look, "I mean, he came up to me first, so it really isn't my fault-" The frustration and 'I told you so'-ness in his eyes intensified with my every word, "Anyways! I was talking to him, and then I tried to leave, and he grabbed me." I continued. "You better have kicked his ass, Becks." James grumbled, and I rolled my eyes. "I would've if a certain someone hadn't tried to take care of the situation for me." "Huh?"   
"Yeah!" I exclaimed. "The Drakon boy who taunted me earlier put a knife to his throat! Where did he even get a knife?" Ali seemed shocked, and I didn't blame him. James, however, was wearing an emotional mask, for reasons I was unsure of. When they didn't say anything in reply, I decided to continue. "And do you know what the weirdest thing was? He told Jordan to let me go, or he'd cut his hands off and shove them down his throat. You know what's weird about that, huh?" "I don't know, _pressing a knife to someone's throat_?" Ali muttered, and I ignored him.   
"The weird thing is that, you know how they all speak this broken English and they all claim they don't speak much English? This dude didn't stutter once. He let out this long-winded, big-ass threat, and he didn't. Stutter. Once. I'm telling you, perfect English. Besides the accent." James stared at me blankly. "What?" I asked, slightly annoyed that they didn't find this as weird as I did. "Why should we care about how fluently they speak English?" I slapped my palm to my forehead before he could get the last syllable out. "JAMES!" I groaned, exasperated. "Pipe down, Theo might think we're having sex." He joked, and I rolled my eyes.   
"James, if they aren't letting on how well they can speak a stupid language, who knows what other secrets they might have? They might have a closet of skeletons that they don't want anyone to know about, and no one is noticing this shit but me!" James quirked a brow at my explanation. "I think you're looking into this a little too much, but I'll support you anyways, because you're my best friend along with Ali, and because I need something to do while we're here." I sighed at his response, but I took it anyways, before looking over at Ali, silently asking for his opinion. The problem, though, was that Ali wasn't paying attention anymore. He was smiling down at his phone, and in an instant, I knew exactly what was going on. I quickly snatched his phone.  
"Hey--!" "Don't "hey" me! That Drakon guy could be dangerous! Haven't you been listening?" Ali pouted.   
"Give my phone back. Just because Edvald's brother is weird--" "Oh, so he's " _Edvald_ " now?" "Technically, he's been " _Edvald_ " since birth, but okay." Ali mimicked my tone, and I sighed, frustrated. "And his brother, the one who talked to us earlier, his name is Alrik." "I don't care what his name is! I want to know what he's here for!" Ali groaned, swinging his legs off the bed and looking me straight in the eye.   
"Becky. You heard what the perky police officer said. They're here for the same reasons we are. Edvald told me that his family is very secretice, and they haven't interacted with anyone outside of their family in years. This is a whole new world for them. It's not their fault that they don't know our social constructs and how we work. Who knows, maybe Alrik has a crush on you, and wanted to protect you from this obviously nefarious dude trying to pull you back into his toxicity. Or maybe he's just a nice guy." I fell silent for a moment. "Ali . . . There's something really wrong here. Please help me find out." Ali fell silent this time, still looking into my eyes as James chewed on his lip to the side of our temporary conflict.  
"Okay, fine. I'll help you do some sleuthing, Holmes. Just please let me enjoy my time with Edvald, yeah?" Ali finally sighed, and I nodded in agreement. "And just so you know, I'm not going to choose between you two and him. It's not going to happen. Ever. No matter how much you try to convince me the rest of his family is evil, he's pretty sweet, and I still love you guys." I smiled a little. "That's gay." James smirked, and Ali rolled his eyes. "Okay, straight boy."


	11. ALRIK : XI

I wasn't sure what had come over me in that moment, but I was at least 75% sure that nothing good would come from my impulsiveness. Yes, I will admit, I had no real reason for 'saving' the girl. However, there were some good things that could have come out of it, if you really looked at it like I did. Sure, I might've blown my cover the slightest bit, but hey! Saved her life, kind of! Or, rather, prevented something terrible from escalating. Either way, she should have been at least a little grateful, as any normal person would be. She wouldn't snitch, I didn't think. Either because she respected me now, or because she was afraid. Despite trying to detach myself emotionally from the mansions, at the thought of her being really, truly afraid of me, of someone fearing me as I feared others, it felt less satisfying than it did an hour before. That was only child's play, just slight intimidation- she wouldn't have really been scared of me at that point. But now that I had pressed a knife to a man's throat in front of her, now that she knew of only a part of what I was capable of, I felt an odd pang of guilt. I grew angry with myself. I was not here to make friends or to make little friendship bracelets with these inferior creatures. But at the same time, were they?  
I shook those thoughts of pity out of my head. That's all it was. Pity. Like the guilt you feel when you crush an ant underfoot. Fleeting, it had to be fleeting, so it didn't swallow you whole.   
I tried to get my mind off of the situation and onto my practices. Reina had smuggled a few books into the mansion, and of course, the books she brought were spellbooks; though I had never been able to perform any mental magic, only inheriting physical abilities rather than the whole package, Father never ceased in forcing me to at least try. It was fine, though, I supposed. Though it would never have any actual results, back in Drakon, it allowed me to spend time with him, learn from the master himself.   
And, though I didn't have mental magic, I was still useful to him. You see, compared to all humans and most Gifted, I had what was called enhanced condition, like all Witches, meaning I had a little extra strength, speed, agility, essentially everything human- all of it was enhanced by nature. The only other ability I had was something I couldn't control- something hidden. I didn't use it anymore because I couldn't, so I didn't count it.   
"Focus, _Drakon_." I heard Reina drawl, sounding irritable as the water in my bowl remained stagnant, completely unmoving. "Hoping to hatch mosquitoes?" I gritted my teeth as she continued to file her nails behind me. "Yes, _Alexander_ , well, if you could stop breaking my concentration every two moments, that would be most _splendid_ for my focus." I spoke, trying to sound patient while she scoffed, got up from the recliner behind me, and went to leave the room, but not before she threw her nail file in the stone bowl. "I can't believe our King wanted me to waste my time on you." She scoffed, and before I knew it, she was out of sight and the stone bowl was smashed on the floor.  
I stared at my shaking hands as I felt a sharp pain in my palm. I turned my hands over, seeing blood drip onto the floor from a cut from the shattered glass nail file. I hissed as I pulled the tiny shard out of the cut and I stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me as I rushed to my floor's kitchen. My heart pounded as I entered, immediately taking note of the Lorusian girl already in there, standing by the fridge. I clenched my fist, eyes watering as I hid the cut to the best of my abilities at a moment's notice.   
The girl looked over at me and I recognized her almost immediately. She had been standing behind Becky the night that I arrived. She had previously looked mystified by my appearance, but when she looked at me now, she looked rather unimpressed. She raised a brow at my awkward, stoic silence. "Um, hi." She spoke, and for some reason, I felt my stomach twist. "Hello." I replied shortly. She stared at me blankly. She had light brown hair down to her shoulders, looking almost golden in the kitchen lights. Her eyes were light hazel, and they were almost kaleidoscopic. I almost forgot about the pain in my hand.   
"I'm Addison. You're one of the Drakon boys." She introduced herself and me, causing me to raise a brow. "That is what we are known as?" Looking at her made it harder to focus on purposefully getting my grammar wrong, though I kept a straight face. "Yeah. That, and the Elves." She said, gesturing to my misshapen ears. There were genetic, I was told. My full siblings all had them too.   
She still didn't seem impressed by me. I wanted to change that. "Oh." I said. She looked me up and down, and her eyes widened. I followed her gaze and saw my blood dripping on the floor. I hid my hand behind my back.   
"What the fuck?" She surged forward immediately, grabbing my wrist when I was unprepared and pulling it to her face. "Uncurl your fist, you psycho! What the hell happened to you?" I flinched slightly, my cheeks heating up, and I uncurled my fist. "Glass." I explained in one word. She sighed, letting go of my wrist and heading out of the room. "Follow me. I'm getting a nurse." I followed obediently, my chest fluttering. "My name is Alrik, for your knowing." I called ahead to her, and she sighed, shaking her head. "Whatever. Call me Addie."  
Addie, I thought. A perfectly fine name. I was going to have to impress her.


	12. JAMES : XII

The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of banging in my door with a frown on my face. I glanced groggily around the room. Theo and Eli had already disappeared for some reason, so there was no one else to get up and open the door.   
However, before I could even ponder getting up to open it, it swung open and my eyes were set on fire by the suddenly functioning lightbulbs. "Jesus, fuck--" My voice cracked as I slammed my palms into my sockets. I didn't have to look to know it was Becky and Ali. "What? WHAT HAPPENED?" I yelled angrily as they clamored over to my bed, assaulting my eardrums with every step. "Oh, never mind. He's okay." I heard Ali speak as I frowned angrily. "What the fuck is going on?" "Oh, not much." I groaned, pressing a pillow to my face, letting out a muffled 'I hope I suffocate.' The pillow was ripped away from my face.  
"You ain't dying before me." Ali teased, smirking. "Seriously, why are you guys here?" Ali shrugged. "Well, you know, we were downstairs, and I was talking to Edvald, and he said Bjorn called dibs on you and Becky freaked out because she thought for some reason he'd be up here. Anyways, he isn't, and do you want a muffin? No one else wanted them. The mansion seems pretty quiet today. You'd never guess there was like . . . However many kids here that there are. Maybe they're all just sulking in their rooms." Ali teased me lightly on the last sentence, and I rolled my eyes. "I'm not sulking, I'm sleeping. Or, I was, before I was woken up at the ungodly hour of . . ." I paused, picking up my phone and checking the time. "1 PM."  
Before I knew it, I was dragged out of bed, had my clothes thrown on me, and was walked downstairs as I yawned uncontrollably, my hair disheveled. And then, mid-yawn, he caught my eye. Bjorn. The tips of my ears felt hotter. For some reason I didn't want him to see me like this. I stopped on the last step while Ali cheerfully hopped off it and went back to Edvald, who was also eyeing me, though as soon as Ali was within five feet, he smiled at my best friend and kissed him square on the lips.   
I looked away, back at Bjorn, but it didn't exactly help me. It was like no matter where I looked, there was an intense Drakon brother staring at me with intense eyes. The younger, more innocent-looking one was there too. He looked more like a look-out for the other two than their brother. He avoided my gaze when I looked at him. I noticed Alrik Drakon was missing from the group. Damn. Maybe Becky was wrong after all. I mean, if he really was up to something, wouldn't he be keeping an eye on her all the time? You know, just in case?  
I saw Bjorn approaching me in my peripheral vision and looked over at him once again. "Perhaps some sitting be better than on stairs?" I raised a brow at his horrible grammar. I wondered if Becky just got the weirder one. "Sure, I guess." I spoke, and he held his hand out to me like I was some damn fairytale princess. I furrowed my brow, slightly annoyed with his attempts to romance me. I walked past him to a table nearby, pushing past Ali and Edvald. I heard Ali groan at either me or Edvald.   
As I sat down, I saw Bjorn had decided to follow me. Something in my chest fluttered. I probably had some congestion. "So . . ." He began, and I raised a brow at him, crossing my arms over my chest. He ghosted his fingers over one of my arms and I flexed my arm muscles involuntarily. "What?" I snapped back, having already felt grumpy before he decided to take a long time while talking. He seemed amused by my impatience.  
"What are you liking of this place?" He inquired, and I considered not answering before shrugging and beginning to speak. "I like that there are more of us than there are adults. And I get to sleep in. And there's no school." He nodded in agreement and I squinted at him. "I am liking of the people." He smiled lightly.   
"Cool. I guess. What about Ms. Johnson?" I asked, smirking slightly. He immediately made a sour face and laughed. "I am not enjoyment of the loud one on the _bsshk-bsshk_." I cracked a smile at his imitation of the speaker system turning on. "The speaker system." I corrected him, and he just smiled. It was hard to try and view him as the next antichrist like Becky assumed he probably was. I hoped that was just Alrik. Bjorn seemed like a nice bro. He had a nice face, nice lips too. He would be a good friend.


	13. BECKY : XIII

Okay, so now that James was _definitely_ pining for Bjorn, I had no one who _really_ wanted to expose the Drakons. Fine. Whatever. As Ali and James were still downstairs with Edvald, Bjorn and the other guy, whose name I learned was Fabius, I was upstairs, bitter. I felt like they didn't actually believe me about the newcomers, which, yeah, I get it, they're attractive, I get it, but seriously! There's was something sketchy going on, and I was the only one who really saw it. Or maybe James was right. Maybe I was reading into this too much . . . Maybe I was wrong.  
I heard my phone chime and I reached for it as Percy's ears perked up at the ringing sound. At least I had a dog to listen to me. Or, diamond dragon/dog, at least. I checked my messages, expecting to see something from James about Ali and Edvald kissing too much, but instead, I happened upon something more surprising. ' _Ali says he can't sense Edvald's emotions._ ' I furrowed my brow, immediately texting back as Percy came wiggling over to the bed, putting her paws up on my arm and wagging her tail as she stood on two feet. ' _What? He only just noticed now?_ ' I sent back, watching as James typed, not bothering to push Percy off my arm. ' _Yeah. I guess the block on him applies to all mental magic._ ' I rolled my eyes slightly. ' _Hence "mental" block._ ' ' _Ha-ha. But seriously. Ali and I are in the bathroom right now, hiding._ ' I typed back as soon as my phone chimed.  
' _That's kinda sketchy and might clue them in to what's happening, you should get out of there before they follow you in._ ' The conversation paused for a couple minutes and, for some reason, my heart was pounding the whole time. Then, James began to type back a reply. ' _Hey. It's Ali. James went outside and give his phone to me so we could keep up the convo and fill you in all the way. He told me to send you this._ 'Paired with the text was a creepshot of a large group of people- maybe 15 of them or more- and all of them were blond with the same creepy smirk on half of their faces, while the other half of the people looked almost mournful. They all looked like they came from a cloning factory.  
' _Who are they?_ ' I texted back, one of my hands patting Percy's head and back as she whined. Ali took a long time responding, but when I finally got a text back, it made me go on a rollercoaster of emotions, from afraid to angry to ecstatic, considering I wasn't the only one who saw what was going on anymore. ' _James noticed these guys standing at the other side of the atrium looking at Bjorn + Edvald. I asked who they were and Edvald just shrugged and said 'they're from Reyella, like you,' and then James took the picture and sent it to a few people who went to different high schools and they said either they didn't know them, they had never seen them before, or that they were probably from Magnolia Boarding, but I checked with Ivy Laurens and she said it's a small school but she'd never seen them before. And then the two in the front came up (the boy + girl holding hands who look like twins- they've both got kinda horsey faces) and they introduced themselves. Guess who they were._ ' I typed back at the speed of light.  
' _Who were they?_ ' It didn't take Ali nearly as long to respond this time around. Percy whined and climbed onto the bed, laying on my back as the mystery thickened right in front of us. ' _Reina and Edmund. The creeps from the frickin' train._ ' I laughed aloud, a short, ' _I told you they were sketchy, I told you so,_ ' "HAH!"  
' _Oh my god, no way. Are they connected?_ ' I texted back quickly, fear beginning to settle back down on me again. What if they found out what we knew? Could any of us really take on, what, thirty Witches? I almost wished I was drafted with my parents, but their situation couldn't be much better. Sure, they were only training now, but they were supposed to be going up against a country entirely populated by Witches and a couple Gifted, maybe. Not only that, but this was my battle; mine, James, Ali, Theo, Eli, Sam, June and every other Lorusian kid's fight. Everyone who was in these compounds was a part of this now. It was our responsibility now. I had never really thought of myself as a patriot, but now I felt . . . I felt ready to defend. My phone chimed again, interrupting my thoughts.  
' _I think they are. I mean, these kids obviously aren't from Halen, since Halen doesn't want to get involved and doesn't know where our safehouses are, so they must be Drakonic. Besides, they have the creepy villain smirk going on. I mean, seriously._ ' I snorted at the last sentence, quickly texting back. ' _So, what do we do about this all?_ ' Ali went silent for a couple minutes before typing again. My heart dropped when I read the next text.   
' _STOP PRYING OR YOUR SKULL WILL BE SMASHED. THIS IS YOUR FIRST WARNING._ ' A chill swept through my body like cold air through a warm room with one window open. 'Who is this?' ' _Where's Ali?_ ' ' _Leave him ALONE_ ' ' _I SWEAR TO GOD IF HE IS HURT I WILL KILL YOU_ ' I sent a stream of death threats, tears building in my eyes. This was all my fault. Ali was hurt, maybe even dead, because I was digging where I shouldn't have been digging.   
' _You can try, Princess_.' I paused, typing back with my shaking hands. ' _Alrik_?' Whoever it was immediately texted back. ' _No, I'm prettier._ ' I stared blankly at my phone screen, tears falling down my cheeks now.  
Then, before I could even think of a reply to the creepy texter, my bedroom door burst open and I shrieked like an upset baby, or a kid being dragged around by a gorilla in an enclosure the child shouldn't have been in in the first place, but because the kid had terrible parents who didn't know how to look after their own frickin' child, a gorilla had to be put down. Percy jumped off the bed and barked like crazy, her entire body wiggling like a furry, golden noodle. Theo, Eli and James were holding an unconscious Ali, looking like they'd just seen a ghost. I jumped off the bed and helped guide them to Ali's bed, where they laid him down.   
"Becky, James, you have a lot to explain." Theo said shakily, her dark brown eyes boring into mine. I let out a weak laugh, tears still streaming out of complete and utter fear. "At least it isn't drugs." James snorted weakly. Eli looked between the two of us, and I jumped when I heard a knock on the open door.   
Sam and June stood at the doorway, Sam looking vaguely frightened and concerned while June just seemed a bit tired. "Is everything okay in here? Why is Becky crying? Is Alistair sleeping?" He started rattling off questions before Eli and Theo pulled him and June inside, shutting the door behind them. Theo looked at me expectantly, and then James. I wiped the tears off my cheeks as Sam and June just looked around at the five of us, bewildered by the situation taking place in front of them.  
"When the Drakons got here, I thought they were a little weird." I began, and Theo nodded, waiting for me to continue as everyone patiently listened. I'd almost never seen her looking this utterly serious before, but it made me feel better knowing she was taking me seriously. "And so I decided to to look into it more . . . And yesterday, after the drill, one of them threatened my ex's life in perfect English when they should be speaking Russian . . . And just now, I was texting James and Ali about some weird people we heard on the train when one of them took James' pone and threatened all of our lives." I spoke as steadily as possible, going slow to make sure I didn't freak out and start crying or something embarrassing. Sam gently touched my shoulder.   
"We should really tell someone." He said quietly, and tears welled in my eyes again. James softly cleared his throat, putting his hand on my other shoulder to comfort me as well. "I'm not sure any of us could defend ourselves or each other against thirty or so Witches," He spoke, voicing my thoughts as I clenched my fists. Sam bit his lip. He could probably already tell how stubborn we were. "We'll stick together, then." June proposed, and I nodded softly. Ali groaned quietly and slowly opened his eyes. James smiled slightly, though still looking a bit grim.   
"I guess there are seven of us now, then. Should we get a tie-dyed van?" He joked, and I let out an exhausted laugh. "We're broke, James," Eli deadpanned, clearly not amused by his brother's weak joke. Ali scanned the room before groaning again, louder this time. "What happened?" The rest of us exchanged a glance, and I could already tell that, while we were putting up extra precautions because of this, it was because of this that we were also about to search harder. We weren't going to give up.  
"You were knocked out." June told Ali shortly. "Or, I assumed you were." She paused, thinking for a moment. "You know, my father taught me and my siblings how to fight, and if we're going up against Witches, we'll need all the help we can get." I nodded quickly in agreement, soon joined by James, Ali, Theo, Eli, and a hesitant Sam. "I'm in." I hated feeling powerless. June nodded.   
"I'll fine a spot and let you guys know when I get one of my siblings to agree to help. Make sure to bring pillows and magazines. Maybe some duct tape if I can't find any. Don't ask."


	14. ALRIK : XIV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for domestic abuse.

So far, I'd been spending the day with Addie. She seemed annoyed by me, but not intimidated by me like I was of her. God, she was beautiful, even when my mind was still reeling from a smack I deserved for staring at her too long. I didn't get what was wrong with me- she was just beautiful, and I couldn't get enough of her. I felt so weak for succumbing to her charms so early, so easily, but when she kissed me at noon without warning, I thought I was doing something right.  
Everything seemed to be moving so fast, and it was so confusing, but somehow I knew what it meant. It meant I needed her, even if she didn't need me back. It meant no matter how much she smacked me, she still felt something. It meant we were in love, obviously. Apparently, less than 24 hours was a short time to fall in love, but I didn't care. She didn't care either. She called herself my girlfriend.  
I practically skipped back to my room when she said good bye, my heart beating stronger than before. I wasn't going to marry Reinette. I was going to marry Addison. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Edvald and Juno practically screaming at each other.  
"DON'T YOU _DARE_ TOUCH ALISTAIR AGAIN, JUNO, OR I SWEAR, _HALEN SCUM_ \--" Edvald hollered, his hand on her throat as she interrupted him, screaming right back at his face. "YOUR _PRECIOUS_ LITTLE ALISTAIR IS ONTO US! HE WILL BE TRYING TO _END_ US SOON ENOUGH ALONG WITH HIS LITTLE MORTAL FRIENDS!" " _NO_ , HE W--" I raised my voice.  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?" Juno pushed Edvald away, forcing him to let go of her before she marched over to me, fuming. I almost cowered. "And _where_ have you been all day? Reinette has been looking for you--" I cut her off with a scoff, looking to the wall beside us before looking back at her again, seeing her looking even angrier than before.  
"Where was I? With Addie, my girlfriend, making myself _worth_ something rather than just a pawn, but whatever. Not like _you'd_ know anything about that." I was expecting for her to have some witty retort to my burn, but instead, she slapped me so hard that I was certain that her hand was smarting from the blow. The room was silent and I met her gaze again, my eyes burning with fury. I swung back, punching her square in the jaw and watching her topple to the floor like a ragdoll.  
I had always been the strongest of us, after all, even without magic.  
I grabbed my journal, a change of clothes, my spellbook and a pillow and stormed out before she could even recover. Edvald knew better than to stop me. Either that, or he was rooting for me. I went to find the first person I thought of- Addie. I had figured out she spent most of her time in the library, and I guessed correctly that she would be there when I needed her. When she saw the look on my face, she immediately rushed out with me. I was still surprised Lorus had enough funding to have libraries in their oversized bunkers, but I was too upset to think of that.  
I knew Juno would try to separate Addie and I, and I couldn't let that happen. She was the first person to show me kindness outside of my family. She was the first person who ever enchanted me. I needed her.  
I planned to stay with her, just for a night. She agreed and showed me to her room, which she didn't share with anyone. It surprised me how quickly she seemed to accept me. She was so kind, and I was . . . me. A failure. She really seemed to see the gold in everyone. I loved her. I already knew. As I fluffed my pillow a little, I looked back and saw her flicking through my journal and my heart dropped, thinking of all the things she could find in there.  
I gently tried to pry it from her hands, but she kept ripping it away from my grasp anyways. "Please, Addie . . . Please . . ." I quietly pleaded, giving her a begging look, but either she didn't see it or she didn't care.  
Suddenly, her expression darkened, her eyes hardened, and she shoved it back at me. "Who's Reinette?" She scowled at me, and I felt utterly hurt and frantic, though I tried to hide it. She showed no weakness. I had to do the same. I didn't want to lose her respect. "She is . . . She was supposed to be my wife when I turn 18, but I don't want her! She is shallow, and cruel, and she is not good like you. She is the reason I bled last night." Her expression softened, even if only slightly.  
"Oh, you poor thing . . ." She crooned, coming closer and pecking the corner of my lips as tears welled in my eyes. "I won't let her or any of the other bad people come near you ever again." She paused, and I slowly became calm again. "I promise." She added, and I smiled lightly into her shoulder. What did I do to deserve her?  
She then let me go, gently kissing my cheek before picking up my journal and powerfully smacking me across the face with it. I blinked. "That's for interrupting my movie." She then smiled, and I felt a laugh bubble up. How silly of her.  
"I'm going to fix you, Rik. And you're going to let me." I nodded softly. "I love you, Addie." I whispered. She avoided my gaze and just hummed instead.


	15. JAMES : XV

I ended up falling asleep in Becky and Ali's room, though Theo, Eli, Sam and June felt safe enough to go back to their own rooms. I woke up only once in the night when Percy whined, and Becky picked her up and took her outside to go pee. I discovered how she'd been keeping the puppy alive- she had stolen a huge bag of dog chow and stored it under her bed with two glass bowls, one for water and one for food. She didn't have any toys, though, so Becky gave her an ugly sweater to chew on.   
I didn't have my phone to stay up and play with after that, so Becky loaned me hers while she went to sleep. I decided to repay her by never jokingly calling her a fake friend ever again. Instead of playing a game, though, I went to her messages. I looked at the picture of the blond brigade. I wondered which one of them did that to Ali. Which one of them hurt him.   
I got up out of bed, making sure to be quiet, shushing Percy as her tail thumped against the floor. I walked over to Sam and June's room, right next door to Becky and Ali's. I gently knocked on the door, slowly pushing the already ajar slab of wood open. June groaned, sitting up, and I shushed her. "It's James," I whispered, and I saw her raise both eyebrows in the dark.   
"James? What's up?" She whispered back, yawning loudly as she clapped a hand over her mouth. "Can you teach me? To fight?" I whispered back. She looked confused, but slowly got up and out of bed. I was antsy. Like Becky and Ali, I didn't like to be powerless. Like most people, in fact, I was pretty sure.   
"I guess." She finally whispered back, grabbing her phone off her nightstand and picking up both of her pillows.   
"Get your pillows. There's a reason for this. I don't want to knock you over and get your skull split open." I snorted. "Yeah, like you'd be the one knocking me over. I'm like, a foot taller than you." She simply smiled in reply. "Just get the damn pillows, Stark." I rolled my eyes and went to get the four pillows from both Becky and Ali's bedroom and my own, coming back soon enough. She whistled a little.   
"Nice. Okay, now follow me." I listened to her, stepping carefully, barefoot on the cold floor, trying to look for bumps or anything that would trip me up and make me scream while falling.   
"What do we need pillows for?" I whispered. She shrugged. "Padding." I raised my eyebrows. "That makes sense . . . I guess." Suddenly, at the same time, we both heard footsteps from around the corner, and with every moment, they grew louder. I panicked for a moment, and June quickly pulled us both into a storage closet in the middle of the hallway, hiding us behind the closed door as the footsteps passed us and a loud yawn sounded in the hallway. My heart was beating so loud even though I knew we weren't technically doing anything wrong- it wasn't like they actually enforced curfew or anything like that, so it was fine. I figured it was probably just the rush of not getting caught and the possibility of maybe getting caught that had me on edge.   
I heard a coffeemaker turn on, and right when I was about to step out of the storage closet, that bitch walked right back out of the room again and started pacing as the machine made his coffee. I gritted my teeth and June shot me a look in the dark that said 'if you move, I'll cut you, for real.' I huffed quietly. This continued for five minutes as this dude waited for his coffee to get finished and subsequently drank it while pacing. It seemed like during times of war, people got even more annoying.  
When the sound of footsteps finally faded, I quickly got out of the closet, only to find myself face-to-face with Ms. Johnson. June popped out from behind me and Ms. Johnson snarled at both of us. "You should be in BED!" She snapped, and June combed her fingers through her hair. "I've been waiting to do this since day one." She responded, and before I could ask what she meant, her fist connected with Ms. Johnson's nose and we both hauled ass down the hallway as we heard her swear and attempt to run after us in the dark with a bloody nose. I almost laughed, really.   
"There's your first lesson!" June whispered while running, which I could not due to my lacking in fitness. "Only the bridge, the jaw, or the upper lip. Yes?" I nodded, panting already. Once we were far enough away, she entered the stairwell. "Do we know where we're going?" I whispered, and from what I could tell, she shook her head. "I still haven't found a place, but I haven't seen anyone go down here yet unless you count the drill. Maybe if we clear up every time after we're done using the space . . ." She wondered aloud, before turning on the basement lights. It was pretty bare, though in one corner it had a metal closet. The walls and ceiling were cement, and it was extremely cold. I doubted anyone would come down there unless there was a drill, and even then, I didn't think everyone would show up. Honestly, I didn't blame them. Lights on or off, this place was creepy.   
"Okay," June finally spoke, her voice full volume now, "put your pillows down in a square or rectangle and leave enough room for standing in the middle. I'm gonna try and wing it." This worried me slightly, but I realized it was probably better than walking around in the mansion defenseless. I set my pillows down and arranged them shortly. "Also, take off your shoes." I furrowed my brow but did as she told me. "Why?" I asked, and she smirked a little, removing her own shoes. "In case we start to do some kicking." She spread her feet apart a bit, raising her arms, her forearms in front of her chest and her fists just below her nose in height, though pushed out towards me slightly. I copied her movements.  
"Okay, great. So, punching is probably the most common type of defense that people think of, but it isn't really as simple as you think. You've got to put weight on your punch, or else it won't mean a damn thing." I nodded to show her I was listening, and her eyes glinted with excitement. "Also, only punch with the knuckles of your index and middle fingers, because if you use your ring and pinky fingers, it might break your hand." She took a look at my hands. "Thumb on the inside, that'll break too." She instructed, and I tucked my thumbs inside my fists quickly. She bounced a little in her stance and watched me like a hawk for a few seconds. I tried to shield every part of me somehow, but when she didn't do anything, I let my guard fall for a moment. "Are you gonna punch, or what?" As if in reply, she swung, arm level with her shoulder, which ended up protecting her face, and hit me gently in the chest. I stared blankly at her.  
"What? Did you want me to make you cry or something? Nah, that comes later. We're practicing now, Stark." She smiled, removing her fist from my chest. "Now, do the same to me." She instructed, and I, while finding her methods odd, followed along. This continued for a few hours, and while I thought I was going to be tired by the first thirty minutes, it actually got easier for me to stay awake the longer I went. Soon enough, it was eight o'clock. She had gotten us both plastic cups for water, and we were both drenched in sweat from about five hours of exercise. I never thought I would even make it to five hours of exercise in one day, but it made me feel better, protected, capable- strong. I liked this feeling. Not only that, but I liked learning this. I liked knowing. I knew how to punch now, how to do it without hurting myself, and where to aim when I did, whether it was the face, the chest, or anything in between.   
"Okay, I need a break. You?" June looked over, splashing some water on her face as she pulled her hair out of her misshapen ponytail. I nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, maybe we should go back upstairs." She cracked a smile at me. "Sounds good." She paused. "If you ever wanna do this again, I'm up for it. Even though I'm exhausted." I laughed weakly, wiping at my face with my shirt and picking up my pillows. "Sure thing. See you later, Branson." "You too, Stark." She said in reply as I left the basement. I put my pillows back on my beds, and then went to find the showers. Thankfully, no one else was in there, and there were stalls instead of it just being open. I stripped down, wrapping my clothes in a towel so they wouldn't get wet from the shower, and closed the stall door behind me once I was in.   
Another great thing about waking up early? There was tons of hot water left. I enjoyed the feeling of the hot water running over my cool skin, which soon became warm, as though cradled in the steam. I stayed in there until my fingers wrinkled before finally turning off the steaming hot water and going out, grabbing my towel and wrapping it around my waist. I heard a whistle and nearly slipped up on tile floor while turning around. It was Bjorn, leaning against the doorway . . . Entirely naked. Posing almost like a statue of a Greek god. I averted my eyes at once.   
"Dude, bro, get a towel!" I yelled, my voice a few octaves higher than usual as I heard him laugh. I wasn't even going to comment about his penis. I really wasn't about to (At least it wasn't erect.). When I turned around again, looking through my fingers, he had a towel on. I dropped my hand from my face and simply sighed at him. He smiled in response. This guy was trying too hard to seduce a straight guy- in fact, trying to seduce a straight guy in the first place was trying too hard, really.   
"Um, have a good shower, I guess. I used a lot of the hot water. Sorry." I strode past him, feeling his eyes follow me. "There is more than one way to make shower hot, yes?" He spoke, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice the second the words came out of his mouth. "Bye." I said shortly as I grabbed my things and left, my face obviously flushed because of the hot water. I heard a light laugh and one of the showers turned on again as I went back to my room.  
After I got dressed, being quiet because Theo and Eli were sleeping, I headed back to Becky and Ali's room. Ali was awake, and slightly lethargic. "Hey." I whispered, making sure not to wake Becky up just yet. Ali just grunted. I raised a brow. That wasn't usually how he acted. I wondered if maybe Uriel was still asleep in him, and thus his will to get up disappeared.  
See, Ali's Gift was empathy; pathokinesis. Usually, people thought this just meant that he could sense the emotions of others. However, this wasn't all. He also had several distinct parts of him- emotions that had different faces and mannerisms. There was Abbadon for rage; Uriel for will; Phanuel for hope; Raziel for greed; Barbatos for fear; the Grigori for compassion; and Jegudiel for love. I had never actually seen any of their faces, though Ali had, but I knew they were real. There were some moments when you could tell his emotions overruled him. I was guessing Jegudiel was the reason he hadn't realized he couldn't feel Edvald's emotions for over a day. Maybe love literally blinded him from that. I wasn't sure, though. I still didn't know exactly how the emotions worked, and I didn't know if Ali really wanted to talk about it, because of . . . Well, because of Teresa.  
I sat down in bed next to him and we looked at each other for a very long time. "So, did you go out to see Bjorn?" He asked quietly, and I snorted. "As if. I actually went out with June." He raised both brows before I realized my error in speech. "We began training, Ali. Jeez, what is it with you and trying to set me up with everyone?" He shrugged, gaining back his smile as he did. "Maybe I just want you in on all the fun." He teased, and I rolled my eyes a little. "Oh, yes, of course, it must be so fun to have your soul crushed by a rather hot person that you are only with for like, two weeks." I said sarcastically, and he pouted. "Oh, come on. You can't tell me you haven't thought about maybe getting with one of the guys or girls. I can sense your emotions, you know this." He teased again, and I lightly punched his shoulder. "I'm straight, single, and uninterested." There was a pause in the conversation before he sighed.  
"You know, you'd think that a guy who digs me enough to constantly be around me and want to kiss me and shit would at least visit me once after I was attacked by one of his friends. Where is he? Like, really. Ugh. Maybe Becky was right about all of them." I scratched the back of my neck, looking slightly sheepish. Ali saw the look in my eyes instantaneously. "James Michael Stark. What did you do to Edvald Drakon?" I sighed. "Alistair Grant Castle, Becky and I thought it would be inappropriate if he were to visit you after one of his acqu--" "Why are you talking all fancy? What, did you rehearse this bull?" He gave me a look before fetching his phone off his nightstand. I didn't bother trying to stop him. "Okay, fine, maybe I did rehearse it, but seriously--" He looked up from his phone but he continued typing whatever he was about to send.  
"Seriously what? And if I didn't ask, were you planning not to tell me? Jesus, you two. I didn't think you both would be the type for guilt by association, but, y'know." He looked back down at his screen and I whined slightly. "O-kay, fine, I'm sorry." I apologized quickly, but he didn't respond immediately. I heard the swish as his text sent and he looked back up at me again, resting his phone screen on his chest as he did. "Sorry for what?" I pouted this time. "Becky also didn't want him in her room." "Our room." "Okay, but still." Ali sniffed before smirking a little. "Fine, then. I'll go to Edvald's room next time." I made a face. "Too much information." "Oh, I've barely gotten started with the information yet, Stark. Have I told you about how experienced he is with s--" "AH!" I let out an almost instinctive yell to cut him off as he laughed. I paused.  
"Ali . . . What if Edvald turns out to be a bad guy?" I asked, looking at him solemnly, seeing he get serious with every breath in between my question and his answer. "I don't think he is, James. I think he's good. I think he's different." He spoke softly, eyes twinkling as Becky groaned in the background. "Yeah, but . . . What if he is? I mean, there's no real way that we can tell." He blinked slowly as he thought of an answer, his gaze shifting every time he opened his eyes again.  
"I'll have to leave him, then, obviously. You think I'm gonna ditch you for some guy I don't even know yet?" I smiled a little and shook my head at his question. "Hell no. You're not that fake." "THAT fake?" He raised a brow. I snorted. "Joking." "You better be, straight boy."


	16. BECKY : XVI

I woke up to the sound of hysterical laughter at 9 in the morning. It was definitely Ali's, but I could tell the snorting behind it was definitely James. I groaned loudly to express my unhappiness with being woken up this early as I checked my phone, which James graciously put back on my nightstand.   
"Ah, she lives." James joked as I lifted my head from the pillows, a small bit of my hair flopping on my forehead lazily as I attempted to blow it away from my face, in vain. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." Ali snorted, and I gave him a dirty look as I combed my fingers through my hair.   
James suddenly let out a loud gasp as he looked at me, his eyes widening. I immediately looked at my shoulder to see if there was a large spider there, before looking back at James and deadpanning, "James, it's just my face. We've been over this." He glared at me. "Shut up, I just remembered something." He paused, waiting for anyone to protest his story, before resuming again. "So, this morning, I was walking around with June--" I raised a brow, immediately interrupting. "Oh, is she your girlfriend or something now? Because whenever you best friends try to get you out of bed at an ungodly hour--" "Shut up, I was already up and I was the one who woke her up because I was bored." He paused, waiting for any other outbursts from me, but I just smirked until he continued.  
"Anyways, this morning, I was walking with June because I was bored, and we were trying to find a training room for the self-defense stuff we were talking about last night, when we ran into Ms. Johnson, and June literally punched her straight in the face and started running." I broke out into a grin. "Wow, we should've befriended her sooner." Ali snorted loudly and I let out a louder laugh than I intended in agreement with his statement.   
"Holy shit. I wonder if Sam is like that too." I thought aloud, but Ali just shrugged nonchalantly. "He seems more chill. Maybe they balance each other out or something." "True."   
I yawned, getting out of bed and stretching out like a tired cat with stuff limbs. "I'm gonna change, just don't look over here." I yawned again, stifling it with my hand quickly before going to take off my sleep shirt. "Aw, you trust us." I snorted. "I trust you more than anyone I'd meet in the showers or the bathroom, so . . . And besides, stick together, right?" I could practically hear Ali shrugging in response before speaking. "Fair enough."   
Like James, I decided on changing into a black tank top, a pair of dark-washed jeans, and, unlike James, I also tossed on a light jacket (to be honest, I was pretty sure leather counted as heavy; baby blue fleece, however, was light, of course). I didn't bother putting on shoes this time. I mean, sure, this place was supposed to be a bunker place where we'd be safe, but we were supposed to live here, and it was supposed to be comfortable. I mean, I wasn't going to break out the short shorts yet, but I needed to feel at least a little comfortable, or I probably wasn't going to deal with the time I'd spend in this place. Percy lifted up her head for a minute and yawned before putting her head back down. I laid out her food and water bowl just in case, and then looked over to James and Ali, who were showing each other memes.  
"Hey, Becks, they made a meme about the dragon attack." I snorted. "I'm sure they've made hundreds by now. Let's get breakfast before the good stuff is gone." I suggested, and James was the first to hop off Ali's bed. Once we got down to the ground floor, I saw about ten or so people in the atrium. Luckily, none of them were Drakon heirs. That's when I realized my error and also felt bile climbing in my throat.   
Across the atrium, sitting in the same chair, were Alrik Drakon and Addison Johnson. Addie was sitting on his lap reading a book while he just looked at her. It was like they were a couple or something. I felt this burning rage in the pit of my stomach for reasons I could only guess- how dare he try to get another girl and manipulate her! At least, that's what I assumed he was doing. Then, Alrik looked up. We met eyes. And then, his eyes widened, as if in fear, and he looked down. That wasn't what I was expecting. I thought maybe he would smirk, even blow me a kiss. But instead, he almost frantically ignored me. I decided to get my mind off it, and headed over to the ground floor kitchen to get a scone for breakfast. It didn't matter whatever that boy was doing. It didn't. At least he wasn't ignoring me anymore. But still, I felt like something was wrong.  
I stayed silent for about ten minutes after that as Ali and James talked. I looked across the atrium at Alrik and Addie every few minutes. It just didn't seem right. Ali must have noticed what I was doing, because soon enough, he let out a soft 'oooh' noise. I looked over at him, my brows furrowed, and picked at my scone. "So, it seems de Nile has migrated from Africa to Becky." Ali whistled, and I squinted. "And what does that mean?" I inquired, and Ali scoffed. "What does that mean? It means you have a crush on a resident bad guy, and you don't want to admit it to yourself because he's a bad guy." He paused as I nearly opened my mouth to protest, and he interrupted me immediately with, "If it's any consolation, the sex is great." I groaned, putting my head in my palms. "Ali, no. He's just acting weird." "Oh, is he? Or are you just jealous?" "I'm not je--" "O-o-oh, jealousy!" He sang, and I smacked his arm. "Shut up! I'm serious, Ali. He didn't even look at me all smugly like an asshole. He almost looked afraid. Seriously. I've only got super strength, not hemokinesis. Fuck." I sighed haughtily, and Ali snorted. "Sure, sure. Maybe the reason he looked scared was because he saw the pure lust in your eyes." He teased and I punched him in the arm harder. "Ow, Becks--" "Hello!"   
I jumped, looking up to see a perky blonde girl who had just walked up. She looked vaguely feline for some reason, though peppy like a dog. Her blue eyes seemed to brim with excitement at the prospect of meeting new people. Oh, no. She was too innocent for us. "Hi?" I almost asked, and she beamed at all three of us in turn. "I'm Betsy Danvers. I moved from Halen a few months ago, and I don't really know anyone here, so I though I'd introduce myself." I nodded slightly. "Oh, okay. I'm Becky Barnes. Resident since birth. This is--" "Alistair Castle." Ali smiled, holding his hand out to her, which she shook heartily. "James Stark." James deadpanned, and I gently smacked his shoulder. He also got his hand shook, slightly reluctantly- he was probably a little put off by her like a mole by sudden sunlight.   
"It's nice to meet you three!" She beamed at us, not put off in the slightest by James. "May I sit?" She inquired, and I nodded, smiling weakly as she pulled up a seat. "Don't mind James, we've just been having some unfortunate experiences with foreigners over the past couple of days." She continued to smile. "Oh, what, with the Drakons? I met one of the girls, Alice, and she's very nice." She said, and I nodded a little. I had no idea which one Alice was, but I was pretty sure she wasn't the one with the million piercings who snarled like a dog.  
"So . . ." I began, pausing to browse my mind for a conversation starter that didn't have to do with the Drakons or an inside joke that wasn't 'how's the weather,' when, in a strange turn of events,. James beat me to the punch. "What's Halen like?" He asked, purposefully not being specific, probably going for the longest answer in the history of conversation so that he had time to come up with another question if we didn't. It was almost sad how well we knew each other.   
She seemed almost flattered by the sudden question about her country of origin. "Oh, well, it's very diverse, much like Lorus is. Our leader was kinda scary, though, which is why we moved. My parent didn't agree with his ideas and wanted a change of pace. I like Chancellor Sanders much better than King Athanasios anyways. But, yeah, Halen is pretty great, I guess. There are some pretty hot royals over there too, not gonna lie. The food is amazing, too. You can get almost anything fried. Unhealthy, but epic- trust me. But, in all honesty, I like Lorus better. It just seems more open and free. You can add a million extensions to a hamster cage, but it's still a cage, y'know? Plus, the people here are great." She sure delivered for James' part and Ali looked content with her company, in my opinion. I tried to think of another question, but came up almost empty.  
"What's your favorite color?" I blurted, and she thought for a moment. "Light blue, maybe. What about yours?" I didn't really have a favorite color. Why did I pick this question to ask, again? "Um, maybe red?" I looked over to the other two, and thankfully, Betsy followed my lead. Ali seemed to come up with his answer from the top of his head. "Green." He said, most likely lying. We didn't usually think about favorite colors. In fact, I was pretty sure, most of the time, we thought about bleach. "Blue also." James blurted, sinking back into his chair.  
"Awesome!" Betsy smiled enthusiastically. On a whim, I decided to look back at Alrik and Addison again. Addie was staring straight at me with a strong glare. I simply glared back and looked away from her as Ali and Betsy started conversing. "So, did Edvald text back yet?" I heard James inquire, only tuning in for a moment because of the Drakonic name before tuning back out and staring blankly at my half eaten scone.   
Then, I heard footsteps approaching and I looked up once they stopped to see Addie and her little boy toy standing next to the four of us. The conversation had halted to a stop. Alrik seemed like he was trying to make ignoring us look casual while Addie stared at me head-on. Then, she put on a bittersweet smile, and I knew what was coming out of her mouth next. "Hi, Becky." I spoke through my teeth. "Hi, Addison." Things only got more tense from there. Even Betsy couldn't seem to bring herself to introducing herself to the other two.   
Let me just introduce Addie, for real. Addison Johnson was like an obnoxious hipster who always liked things before they got popular and had a better taste than you in everything- at least, in her opinion. She was also the daughter of Ms. Johnson. So, basically, she was the Antichrist. Luckily, Ms. Johnson only mentioned her a million times every day. Oh yeah, and she was also a teacher's aid, since she was nineteen and taking a year break before going to college. I barely even knew her for a school year and I already hated her completely and utterly. And when she wasn't spouting pretentious quotes from old, pretentious authors that were long dead or snatching phone like a pterodactyl, her mom was always talking. The class was literally hell.   
"That's Miss Johnson, honey." I almost scoffed. Yeah, like she had any real power here. Please. "You're three years older than me, Johnson, get the hell out of my face." I snapped, and her facade of friendliness instantly disappeared. I could almost feel Betsy getting more tense in the moment. "You get out of MINE. Rik told me you've been staring at us, or specifically him, so back off." She growled, and I looked between her and Alrik. "Stop looking at him! He's mine now. You didn't see how broken and good he is when I did, so you don't get him. But I get him. I know him. He tells me everything. You just want him for his looks." I suddenly stood up, hands balled into fists, though I could tell Betsy didn't want me to do that. I'd apologize later.   
"If I wanted someone hot, I wouldn't go for a guy with skin the color of skim milk, asshole. I don't want your man." I paused, turning to Alrik and mutter an obligatory 'sorry' for insulting him in front of everyone so fruitlessly. Yes, I had my suspicions about him, but I didn't like talking about him and treating him like he wasn't there like the way Addie was. "I can't believe the amount of disrespect I'm getting from you right now. Wow." I rolled my eyes. "Kiss my ass like you kiss your homewrecker mom's, Johnson." I heard Ali stifle a snort and I didn't have to turn to tell that James was smirking, but my eyes were trained on her before Betsy slowly stood up, beginning to make her way between the two of us. "We should all just cal--"  
Too late. I swing, but before I knew it, Alrik, who had decided to stop ignoring us, grabbed my wrist and pushed me away from her, though not with excessive force like I thought he would. For a moment, Addie was just stunned, but during the next, she grabbed Alrik's hand and angrily stormed away with him in tow. He didn't look back. I could feel his skin still cold on mine, even as I watched them walk away. He could've done so much worse that that- why not?   
I heard someone start clapping behind me and I turned to see Theo, Elim, Sam and June had joined us. June was clapping, though Sam didn't look quite as happy. "That's great posture for a beginner, though you need to put your thumb on the inside so you don't completely wreck your hand and break your bones." June stopped clapping and Betsy raised a brow. "A beginner . . . ?" She trailed off before her eyes brightened a bit. "Oh, are you guys in, like, a fight club or something? Can I join?" She looked at me and I looked at June, who just shrugged in response, as if to say 'what's the worst that could happen?' That wasn't exactly reassuring, but I looked back at Betsy and smiled. "Sure."  
"Plus one, then." Ali hummed a little. James looked at the rest of us, a brow quirked. "Are we gonna tell her, or what?" He asked bluntly and Theo immediately sighed in response. "Well, we kind of have to, don't we?" Betsy looked like a mix of excited and terrified. "Tell me what? My lips are sealed, I swear on it." I thought for a moment before I put the other half of my scone in my mouth before starting to walk to the stairs, motioning for them to follow me, which they did.   
By the time we got to Ali and I's room, the scone was finished. Percy barked when I opened the door and Betsy immediately cooed at the sight of the puppy. Soon enough, I learned the room wasn't meant for eight people and a dog at the same time. Luckily, Betsy was up for holding Percy on her lap as we talked. Everyone seemed to be looking at me expectantly, so I sighed and started at the beginning.   
"So, on the train ride over to the mansion, there was this weird group of people James saw, and later, two of them came to James, Ali and I's compartment and said some shady stuff about us not being prepared for something. That night, as you know, the Drakons were brought here." I paused. "James, being a telepath, noticed that they were hidden from him by what we're guessing is a mental block. We didn't connect the two events until last night, when this picture was taken," I showed her the picture of the blond brigade, "and Ali was attacked and knocked out by someone who proceeded to threaten me with death." I paused again to show her a cropped screenshot of the text about skull-smashing and shit. She gasped.   
"Have you told anyone yet? That could get whichever one of them it was who did that in serious trouble!" She exclaimed, and Eli shook his head, answering before I could. "No. We don't think the authorities here are strong enough to deal with Witches, and we don't want them to come after all of us and kill us off, which they probably could. We're kinda back into a corner here." Eli explained and Betsy bit her lip. Sam looked like he had something to say, but he didn't look overly excited to say it just yet. June smiled.  
"For the time being, we're trying to stay in groups and out of danger while learning to fight. We haven't had our first meeting yet, though, but we should get to it, just in case." June explained further, and Sam finally decided to speak up.   
"I don't want to be that bitch, but we don't know who Ali's attacker was. It could've been one of ours who wanted to start in-fighting to get rid of the Drakons. Maybe they're not monsters like we think they are. And you saw Alrik when he stopped you from punching Addison. He was gentler with you than I think any of us expected. If he wanted to, he probably could've removed your hand and gotten away with it. And if they really attacked Ali, why? He's with Edvald. He was going to find out at some point anyways. It might be someone else." The room fell silent for a minute. Percy gnawed on Betsy's fingers. Ali checked his phone for a text from the aforementioned Edvald, that, based on his facial expression when he put his phone back down, I guessed had not been sent yet. I waited for another moment before calmly opening my mouth.   
"Do we want to take that they're not here for a takeover as a _fact_ , as a _gesture_ of good faith, or do we want to be _ready_ in case that show of good faith is wrong?" No one answered.


	17. ALRIK : XVII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for domestic abuse.

Addie convinced me not to go back to my shared room with Ingimarr and Bjorn with kisses and her soft words. She was right about them. They were evil, and I deserved better. They were not good for me. They convinced me to do bad things. They were bad, and Addie was the one who brought out the better parts in me.   
"Why are your siblings so terrible to you, babe" She inquired as we laid together on my bed. I shrugged. "We weren't . . . Raised well." She looked up at me through her eyelashes. "You can tell me about it." I knew what she meant by that. She didn't like secrets. If I didn't tell her, she'd probably just ask one of my siblings or ignore me until I finally told her. As I thought about my past, I realized how much worse it was than I thought.  
"Father . . . The Shadow King . . . He took us from our real parents. I was raised in a crate the first three years of my life, I believe. The Father never showed us love, only favoritism towards those who served him well. Those who served him best . . . He scares me. He has always been this way." My stomach twisted and I avoided looking at her until she grabbed my chin, tilting my head and forcing me to look her in the eyes.   
"It doesn't matter what he did. It doesn't matter what you went through. Just forget it. Don't talk about it. It doesn't matter anymore. You're here with me now. I'll fix you. Besides, other people have it off worse than you." Oddly enough, though she was trying to reassure me, I felt slightly more upset because of her words. I gently lifted her hand from my face and rolled out of bed.  
"I'm . . . I'm sorry. Just give me a moment." I apologized, facing the wall as I heard her get out of bed. "Hey, I said to just forget about it. Didn't you hear me? Just forget it and it won't hurt you anymore, idiot." I felt dread settling in my bones and I tensed when she touched my shoulder blade. "I can't just forget my entire life." I spoke quietly.   
"Hey. Look at me. Just fucking look at me." She pulled at my arm and I reluctantly turned to look at her. "I'm your life now. Just let it go. Get over it. It doesn't _matter_. Don't be stupid." It hurt, but I knew she was right. "You're right. I'm being stupid. I'm sorry." She sighed. "Okay." I was being so silly that I almost forgot what I was supposed to say to her. I looked into her doe brown eyes willingly this time. Gods, she was so beautiful.   
"I love you more than you might ever know." She smiled a little in response, reaching for the hem of her shirt. It took me a moment to realize what she wanted. "Then maybe you should try to show me instead of tell . . ." I bit my lip. "I am only sixteen, you know." I didn't want her to get in trouble. She continued to smile. "Love is love no matter the age." She leaned up, brushing her lips against mine. "I . . ." I couldn't think of an argument against it other than one.  
"I just need a bit of time, just a little bit. I'm sure I'll feel fine soon, and then--" Feeling offended, as I assumed, she groaned, pulled away from me, smacked me clean across the face, and went to her own bed and silently buried herself in the covers. I touched my stinging cheek and bit my lip as I looked at her form. I walked out of the room slowly, quietly closing the door behind me.  
I wandered the hallways for a few minutes, thinking about what she said and trying to put the past behind me. She was right. I felt so stupid, just feeling sorry for myself. No one cared about my sob story. I was grateful she made it clear to me. I was glad she was teaching me the ropes. I would know my way around interacting with others now, and it was because of her. But, then again, I didn't think she really wanted me to interact with other people. That was okay, though. She knew better than i did, and I already knew how bad people could be. She was trying to shield me from that. She loved me. The thought made me feel warm. She loved me, even if no one else else did. Even if my family hated me. Even if I had no one else. I loved her, and she loved me.  
I was abruptly pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around, heart lightened, hoping to see Addie, expecting it, but instead seeing a petite brunette girl with green eyes and a charming smile. "Hi." She greeted me. She seemed nice, like Addie, but at the same time, not identically smiliar to her in aura, from what I could tell. "I'm Audrey." She introduced herself when I forgot to respond, and I became panicked when I thought about how Addie would feel about me talking to some stranger so casually without her around.  
"Are you okay?" Audrey inquired, her brow furrowing as I looked away from her, feeling ashamed of myself. "I am fine." I spoke, still using the accent despite being upset and lacking a lot of concentration. "You don't look very okay, Mr. Drakon. What's wrong?" She asked, and though she sounded genuinely concerned, I didn't feel comfortable saying anything to her. I heard a scoff behind me and turned around to see Addie.  
"Who is this, a side chick?" I felt hurt that she had no faith in me, and that she would automatically assume the worst of me. Audrey was confused by her accusation. "No, we just met. I'm Audrey, and you're rude. Were you the one who made him so upset?" "No." I said automatically as Audrey squinted at the both of us. "Who are you to fucking judge our relationship, homewrecker? Come on, Rik, we're going." Audrey grabbed my arm before I could move.  
"Let go of him!" Addie exclaimed, getting angrier with each breath. "Only if he wants me to." Audrey spoke calmly, before looking at me. "Of course he wants you to let him go, psycho!" Audrey ignored her and continued to look at me. I soon realized she expected me to say something.   
_No_. "Yes." I said instead. She smiled, nodded, and released me. As I walked away, I looked back one last time. There was a twinkle in her eyes as she watching the two of us. I think she understood. I didn't think she was going to quit just yet.


	18. JAMES : XVIII

After the slightly grim discussion, June disappeared for a couple minutes and brought back a slightly shorter girl with a stronger jawline and darker hair named Aria Morse. Aria was taken by June's mom after their parents divorced, it seemed. I didn't ask why they divorced, but I kind of assumed it had something to do with the fact that their dad was teaching them how to fight at, like, nine years old, presumably in secret (child protective services, anyone?). We all headed down to the basement with about twenty or so pillows, and though Sam had prematurely decided to sit out of this training session, the rest of us were standing around the rectangle of pillows, watching as June and Aria started to go at it for practice.   
"Now, guys, remember, we won't actually be hitting each other while training. That comes later. Right now, you just have to get used to the feel of it. If we started now, there would probably be a lot of broken bones," June began to speak, putting her fists up and circling inside the pillow rectangle with Aria, like two wolves. "I mean, Aria and I will be punching each other for real just to demonstrate because we've been doing this longer, but seriously, guys, don't actually hi--" June was quickly cut off when two knuckles slammed into her lips in the shortest and quickest punch I'd ever seen. I wasn't even sure Aria fully extended her arm to do that, but she still caused June's nose to bleed profusely.  
June licked her upper lip, tasting the blood, before lunging forwards, throwing several fast punches and putting up her arms to block the ones coming her way before she finally maneuvered behind Aria and struck her in the back of the neck. "Don't do that, guys. Rabbit punches are lethal and an illegal move in professional boxing. But if you get threatened by one of the Drakons, feel free to hit him in the back of the head." Then, June let out a soft groan when Aria quickly punched her in the stomach.   
Betsy seemed slightly disturbed by the punch and how sudden it was judging by her flinch and how seconds later she let out a soft 'ooh.' "Will we be learning how to block?" Eli asked, and Aria chuckled as if he just read a joke off of a popsicle stick as she continued to give June a few short birthday punches on her stomach before letting her go and pushing her back. "What did you tell these kids, June? That we were teaching them to sell Girl Scout cookies to these Witches?" She snorted, and June smirked, letting blood drip from her nose onto the floor as she swayed back and forth, slowly regaining her balance.   
"Put your fists back up, Aria. Let me show you how old you are, grandma." She jeered, and Aria smirked before swinging at June's head, missing when she ducked. June then kicked her in the stomach and knocked her on her ass. "Oh, so this is a kicking fight, now?" "Nope, nobody do that in this session. Unless need to do it in real life, do not do that." June giggled before being knocked onto the ground by one of Aria's swinging legs. "Yeah, don't do that either." Aria smirked, blood dripping from her mouth.  
Theo raised her hand before starting to speak and lowering it. "Can we bring weapons at some point?" She asked, and I immediately knew what she was talking about. She had received a surprisingly powerful whip as a gag gift a few years back, and she nearly got arrested when it 'accidentally' got wrapped around Addison Johnson's throat when she was babysitting us, even though we were twelve and perfectly responsible (okay, maybe the whip incident proved that we weren't, but hey! We were trying).  
"Sure, as long as you use it on pillows or something. We won't be hurting each other here. We're going to save that for the Drakons." June stood up, wiping under her nose and then wiping the blood on her shirt as Aria got up as well. Betsy raised her hand and June nodded to her, causing her to lower her hand once again. "Um, what's the door over there for?" She inquired, and I furrowed my brow. June seemed confused as well, looking around. "What door?" Betsy blushed slightly and then made her way over to a dark corner of the room and unveiled what looked like a trapdoor. "This door?" She said, almost unsure of herself, and we all walked over to the join her, June and Aria dripping blood the whole way over.   
"I didn't see that last time . . . James?" June looked over to me, and I just shook my head. "I didn't see it either." We all fell silent for a few moments before Aria shrugged, surged forward, and tugged it open. Her arm muscles were impressive, and honestly kind of intimidating; she was lean, like a panther. Seriously. She was kinda terrifying.   
There were stairs leading down from the door to wherever the ground was. "Are we going down, or what?" Aria asked us rhetorically, and we all kind of looked at each other, going silent as we did. Aria was the oldest, so it made sense for her to go first. She was also the strongest, so if a horror movie villain decided to attack all of us, she could fend it off long enough for the rest of us to run away screaming that it was the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. I knew it was only, like, one in the afternoon, so it wouldn't make sense for everything to go all Texas chainsaw now, since that only happened in the movies at night, but the basement of this place was so dark without one dim light on that it made me feel completely and utterly paranoid.  
It was that, and the knowledge that one of the Drakons could probably just teleport behind me and snap my neck in .2 seconds that made the hairs on my neck stand up.   
Happy thoughts, I thought to myself as Aria sighed and started to go down the staircase, June following her soon enough without a moment's delay to think about what could possibly be at the bottom of the staircase like I would have if I was her. "June, wanna tell me why we're teaching a bunch of pussies how to fight?" Aria asked loudly, her voice echoing on the stairs and back up to my ears. "These pussies have ears and can hear you." I spoke up as Ali and Theo started going down the stairs, despite my nonverbal pleas. Aria laughed. "I know. Whatcha gonna do about it?" She teased in reply as Becky and Eli and Sam started down the stairs as well, gripping the thin railing as they tried to see through the darkness in vain. A light turned on at the bottom of the staircase and Betsy and I finally started moving, soon enough catching up to the rest of them on the narrow staircase. Once we finally got to the bottom of the steep staircase, and emerged from behind the wall encasing it, I sucked in a breath of surprise as I looked at the huge space in front of us, like a chasm just barely light by a lightbulb at the bottom of the stairs. The thing was massive, from what I could tell. I couldn't see any wall besides what was right behind us.   
June grinned, showing her blood-stained teeth, turned orange from the nosebleed from earlier. "Amazing." She breathed out, grabbing a flashlight from the floor, turning it on, and gasping when she pointed it over at our left-hand side. She soon started walking over, and we all moved in a small crowd of eight behind her, though Aria soon surged to the front with her sister. I saw, a fair few yards away, life-size dummies. By the dummies, I realized, were floor pads, arm guards, chest pads, and organized piles of other training equipment. It was like we all stumbled across the Branson-Morse Holy Grail.   
"Oh, man, guys, this means we don't have to use pillows anymore! Aria, help me get these dummies dragged out- everyone else, two to a floor pad! Spread them out! Go!" Ali and I ended up grabbing the same floor pad, while Becky and Betsy, Theo and Eli, and Sam dragged out their own. Ali and I were closer to the back of the group, which was where Aria and June ended up putting the dummies. "Everybody will first start practicing on the dummies, lightly aiming and tapping before moving on to harder punches. By next session, we'll probably still be on the dummies, but hen we do get to practicing on each other, we will be lightly tapping, and lightly tapping only." June announced, and Aria raised a brow. "We won't be lightly tapping forever. No pain, no gain." Aria added, and I cracked a smile while June elbowed her in the ribs. "Maybe. Everyone pick one partner. Anyone left over will be paired with me, and Aria will be overseeing everything, because I don't trust her to hold a dummy in place for any of you. Sam, you still sitting out?" Sam shook his head. "Okay, great. Glad to know you're interested now." She smiled, and he sighed. "I'm only doing this because we're friends." "Ah, sure, why not. I'll hold your dummy for you." "Sure."  
Soon enough, everyone was paired up, and I was with Ali. Ali was the first one to do the tapping on the standing punching bag, and Aria came around to correct him a couple times like everyone else, and about five minutes in, his phone chimed. Before any of us could say a word, he already had it whipped out with a crazed smile on his face as he typed a reply to Edvald. I didn't even have to ask him who it was. At least he was happy, though, I guess. "Ali," I whined as I heard it chime again. I knew if Edvald kept texting back, Ali would never stop texting, and I wanted him to be able to defend himself, just in case one of the Drakons came after him again.   
"One second!" He yelped, and sighed dreamily as his fourth text back to Edvald was sent before slipping his phone back in his pocket.  
"What'd he say?" I asked, being uncontrollably nosy. He sighed, resuming his practice tapping before responding to my question. "He asked how I was, if I was okay, and then he asked if I'd seen Alrik. I'm telling you, if anyone here is evil, it's Addison." He tapped the bag again. "Alrik is creepy, but she's a slimy little . . . Never mind." He sighed again. "Jegudiel getting mad about her" I guessed, and he shrugged, tapping the bag again. "Abbadon isn't being so pleasant right now either. Don't even mention Barbatos. This whole war has thrown him out of balance and gotten him all tense and anxious, which he's been slowly transferring to me. Because of him and Abbadon, I'm always torn between wanting to sink into a dark corner and disappear and wanting to hunt Addie down with a knife in hand and finish the job Theo started with the whip." He paused. "In short, I'm basically really confused right now." I nodded slightly in understanding. I couldn't imagine what being host to so many entities would be like. I couldn't imagine what he had to do just to sleep.   
"Apparently Bjorn has been asking about you, by the way." My heart beat faster for some reason. "Huh? Why?" I suddenly couldn't get the image of his meat out of my head. Ali gave me look. "Oh, yeah, sure, like you don't know. Come on, Jay. You've got to admit that he's pretty charming." I snorted. "I'm straight." I replied, thinking that was explanatory enough. He just smirked. "Not what I asked, Stark. I'll take your avoidance as a 'yes,' though." I raised a brow. "A 'yes' to what?" Ali hummed as he continued to tap the dummy. "You like him." My heart beat faster as I opened my mouth to verbally defend myself. "As a friend, maybe." Ali let out a loud laugh. "Sure." He paused.   
"Wanna take a turn?" I accepted, and for the next twenty minutes or so, I thought about what he said. Did I like the Drakon boy? I mean, he'd only been here for a few days so far, but he'd already made everyone question my sexuality. What if I did somehow like him? What if I didn't want to admit it because Becky thought he was bad news? And what if he was. Oh, god.   
"Once everyone gets back to tapping again after switching for a little bit, you can punch a little harder, maybe even kick. Do whatever feels right that wouldn't break your bones in a real fight. Find your style and own it." Aria instructed, pulling me out of my thoughts. My skin felt hot and my hands were a little so I let Ali have his next turn while I cooled off, relaxing my sore arm muscles. He hit surprisingly hard when he wasn't trying to be gently. I kept thinking about Bjorn.  
"Hey, Ali?" He kept punching. "Yeah?" What does it mean when . . ." I paused, lowering my voice. " . . . When a guy stands naked in the entrance to the showers and just smirks at you?" I asked quietly, immediately regretting it when Ali choked on his breath. "What? Why so specific-- Wait, did Bjorn do that? Oh my god, James, you are so oblivious!" I clenched, my jaw, hissing. "What does it mean, Ali? Is he serious about me?" I whispered again, and it sounded like he was either laughing or choking. Betsy looked over at us curiously and I averted my gaze to the floor.  
"Alistair!" I whispered irritably as he continued to laugh. "Sorry, sorry-- I think it means you should do him." I flushed. "Oh, fuck _off_." "Maybe before I fuck off, you should fuck _him_ -" He teased quietly and I gently punched his arm. "Get him, straight boy."


	19. BECKY : XIX

I had previously never been the type of person to wake up early OR exercise, so the fact I was doing both at the same time outside with Betsy came as a rather shocking surprise to me, but at the same time, it was invigorating. I couldn't get enough of it. It was like the past couple of weeks woke something up in me that had been lounging around for the past sixteen years or so.   
In training, we had moved from lightly tapping bags to unleashing things on our partners, feelings we couldn't control, and now didn't need to. I had bruises on my arms from blocking, and I was sure Betsy had a couple bruises from me as well, but there were no apologies needed at this point. We were helping each other, in some weird way. "So," I began, sending a bit of a sharp blow to Betsy's solar plexus, which was quickly deflected by her open palm, catching my fist and throwing it back at me, "any news on the Drakons and what they're up to?"   
She had a sharp intake of breath at that sentence. "Dang. I was hoping you'd be able to tell me something, actually. They've been pretty quiet." "I mean, it's kind of smart of them, given that one of theirs," I deflected a punch to my jaw with my wrist, "literally attacked someone, and everyone knows about it." She raised both eyebrows at my statement. "Okay, well, not everyone, but all the people who matter."   
"Yeah, true, but I'm pretty sure they already knew that you knew when all that happened, so . . . What's stopping them?" I shrugged, chewing the inside of my cheek and releasing before jabbing her in the side with my elbow as she hissed.  
"I don't know. Maybe they want to recover their integrity." "It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" I smiled a little. "In case you didn't notice, they're not particularly bright. At least, not when it comes to improvisation." She smacked her palm into my stomach with an impact, that, at this point, probably hurt her more than it hurt me.  
"Yeah, but they were able to make it here, right?" She inquired rhetorically as I went to smack her in the ear, but she quickly ducked before my open palm could make contact.   
"Well, yeah, but I don't think they could've come up with that plan on their own. I mean, they're still teenagers, like us. They'd have to be masterminds to pull that off." I replied, catching her foot as she kicked towards my chest before giving it back to her momentarily. "True." She paused, pushing my knee back down before it could hit her solar plexus. "But," she began again, "who would be controlling them?" She asked, and and I failed to deflect as she swung at my ribcage.  
"Well, isn't it obvious?" I replied, wheezing slightly as I swung my right leg at both of hers. "It's most likely the Shadow King. Their dad. It only makes sense." I continued, sighing as I toppled onto the ground next to her. The sun was burning my eyes pretty intensely before I closed them.  
"What's going to happen to us, Becky?" Betsy murmured, lacing her fingers with mine with one hand as we continued to lay on the ground. "After all this training . . . After this war . . . What will we really be able to do against a bunch of Witches?" I felt a lump in my throat as I confronted the thoughts that her questions brought up. Would I ever see my family again, really? Would I live another day after fighting the Drakons and their little blonde posse? Would any of us? And what if we lost? What would happen to those we left behind in death? Would we just have to leave everyone behind? Let them suffer because some King wanted control over Lorus? No. I wasn't going to let that happen. Before now, I had been hollow, only barely taped together by sarcasm and humor and food. But now, I had the chance to do something more, and I wasn't about to fuck up. "We'll do the best we can. Nothing less. We can't let them just take us."  
After that, we both fell silent for a little while, perspiring in the grass as a soft breeze blew in our ears, through our hair. It was peaceful, for a moment. But my other, silent answers kept swirling around in my head. "Becks." Betsy suddenly whispered, and I felt her sitting up soon enough. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times before sitting up and looking over at the dark mass heading towards us as my vision slowly cleared. The thin girl tottered towards us, black hair still hanging in her face like it was on the first night. The crying girl. The frail Drakon.   
"What do you want?" I didn't want to sound so sharp, and I immediately regretted it when I saw her flinch, but I was too uneasy. Betsy slowly stood, and after a moment, I joined her. The girl did not speak. She stared at me with her ocean blue eyes. "What's your name?" I tried to ask her again, but when she opened her mouth to speak, it just closed again. She looked almost like a fish. She closed her eyes in a hard blink for a moment, as if trying to muster up enough energy to speak, before pulling out a small piece of paper. She shuffled over the grassy ground over to us and offered the piece of paper to me with a shaky hand. I hesitantly took it.   
_'Help me.'_ I looked up at her once again, and her expression seemed more urgent than sleepy now. What did that mean? Was she a spy from the Drakons to us? Or did she actually need sleep? They all seemed to be pretty good actors, but I wasn't sure about her. Why wouldn't she talk? "Okay . . ." I began slowly, starting to formulate a plan in my mind as I looked back at Betsy. She chewed her lower lip for a moment before releasing it. "My room." I nodded before looking back at the Drakon girl. "You can . . . Just follow us. Or, her, rather." I spoke and I followed Betsy as she began to move. The Drakon girl followed after us, looking around every few seconds as soon as we entered the mansion again.   
It was then that I realized that we probably weren't allowed to go outside the mansion. Oops. I then realized that I was about to see Betsy's room for the first time- I mean, I'd been around her room, in the hall it was situated, but I had never actually been inside before, even though she had been in mine and Ali's the first time that we met. Though, that was more out of necessity for a quiet place than anything else, really. Plus, I didn't know if she had a roommate who would have minded if we just barged in for no reason or whatever. I didn't know if she had a roommate, period. I guessed I was about to find out.  
Once we reached the hallway, I realized the Drakon girl had still not said a word. What was her issue? Was something wrong with her? Or maybe she had been crying so much that she was no longer coherent. Betsy quietly opened the door and sighed in relief. "My roommate is out for now. Come on." She stood inside the room, hand placed delicately on the open door as we walked in, before closing it behind us.   
I got comfy on a rolling chair sat by a small desk- why Betsy or her roommate packed their desk, I'd never know. The Drakon girl continued to stand while Betsy sat on one of the beds, both of us looking at the girl expectantly. "Oh." Betsy slapped the back of her palm to her sweaty forehead before heading over to the desk and grabbing a notepad and a pen. "Sorry, I forgot," she smiled weakly at the Drakon girl, who mustered up a pale imitation as she accepted the pen and paper. I decided I would give her something to write about.   
"What do you want?" I repeated my question from earlier, and she quickly began to write. The two-word answer hadn't really helped me understand what she was doing. After a minute of writing, she gave the notepad to me, hands shaking. In a messy scrawl, it said: _'I need help. They have taken my voice. I want to stop them before it's too late.'_ I swear to god, it gave me chills. I looked back up at her again, handing the notepad back. "Who took your voice? Your siblings? Your father? What are they planning to do to us?" I asked, becoming more and more concerned with each passing moment. She sniffled quietly before beginning to write again, letting a tear spill onto the paper as she wrote before handing it back to me.   
I could hear Betsy shifting before she walked over, perching on the desk and attempting to read the girl's messy messages herself. _'Edmund Alexander took my voice.'_ My heart sank as I recognized the name of the sketchy guy on the train. I continued to read the message. _'If you don't help me, they'll kill me. And then they'll kill you.'_ Betsy let out a soft whimper and I clutched her hand before handing the notepad back to the girl again. "What are they planning to do to all of us? Why are they here?" I asked one final time, my voice wavering as I spoke. She spent less time writing this time around before handing the notepad back to me. My breath hitched in my throat involuntarily.  
 _'They're going to wipe humans out, and to do that they're going to take over the world.'_


	20. ALRIK : XX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for allusions to suicide

It had been two weeks since I had last seen any member of my family. I honestly couldn't tell whether I was doing better or worse, which made me think better. At least I wasn't stuck in a box, right? At least I didn't have threats from people a million times more powerful than me constantly hanging over my head, right? But I still felt just as inadequate to Addie as I did to everyone else. She probably hadn't meant to make me feel this way. Maybe this was just the best I was going to get. Maybe this was how the world worked. Or maybe, I wasn't just some unlucky guy. Maybe I was a failure, who actually got extremely lucky. I didn't know. I had no idea. But I had a strong feeling, and that was enough for me.  
I looked down the side of the building, past my legs, feeling the wind combing through my hair. Like a mother's hands. I had seen Becky and one of her conspiracy theorist friends out earlier on in the day. I managed to keep myself hidden then, but by the time Audrey came around, I didn't need to anymore. They were both gone. I had no idea what they were doing, and I didn't know why they left, but I assumed they might have been exercising. Jerome reported that they'd been trying to train for us. Like they could fight Witches with fists. I almost pitied them.  
"What are you thinking about?" Even though I hadn't seen my family, I decided I would meet with Audrey every now and then. Her voice was soft, carried by the wind to my ears. I didn't look over at her, instead deciding to swing my legs over the edge like a toddler in his high chair. "Not much," I answered simply, and she hummed a little under her breath, almost giggly. I could tell she didn't buy it, but even if she didn't, she wasn't going to say anything. I had learned that, unlike Addie, she wouldn't keep badgering. She would wait for me to tell her instead of forcing me to. And, eventually, knowing me, I would crack and tell her. I couldn't help it. I couldn't keep it in anymore, all these problems that had been plaguing me because now I didn't have to. There were other people besides the members of my family, besides my siblings, besides my betrothed, that I could talk to. I didn't have to be silent anymore. It was a lot more liberating than I really thought it would be, but I wasn't planning on telling my siblings about that. Who knew what they would do, should they find me with some Lorusian girl? I didn't quite want to find out either.  
"Addie told me that my . . . my past doesn't matter. That she wants me to forget it." Using my natural English accent was so much easier now. I had botched it about a week ago when I had shown up at Audrey's door stifling tears, and since then, I had been more honest with her. I had given her some of the truth. Though, not all of it, of course. I didn't look at Audrey but I could practically feel her brow furrowing as she heard my lamenting.  
"What about your past doesn't matter?" She asked softly, curiously. There was no denying the curiosity part, and I didn't really blame her. I was a freakshow with a sob story. Anyone with a properly working brain would be curious about the morbid details of my less than satisfactory and actually quite hallowing childhood. "Well," I began softly, trying to figure out exactly where this sentence was going, and trying to calculate the amount of backstory I would spill for her this time, before realizing trying to stop myself was pointless this far into our friendship. "When I was younger, actually, when I was a baby, I was abducted by Father . . . He isn't my real father, actually. I figured that out a long . . . Long time ago." I paused, looking to see her reaction. She looked earnest, ready to listen and ready to comfort me. I felt almost warmed by it. She stayed silent, green eyes watching me. I took that as encouragement to continue with my little story again.  
"He . . . He was not kind." I paused again, this time shorter. "For the first few years of my life, I was locked in a box. Fed every day, but I never got to come out until I was four years old. He was so cruel. But the Queen, the Queen was so much worse. Where he hit, she dug her nails in, she looked you in the eyes, and she made you feel . . . Feel so worthless." Tears stung my eyes and I looked down again. "And I want to talk about it, but she wants me to forget it, and I don't know what to do. I think I'm failing her. I fail everyone. I've always failed. You know, he raised us to be . . . Soldiers. But he always looked at me like I failed. God, I hate talking about myself for this exact reason. Because I'm a failure! I fail everyone. I failed the King and the Queen. I'm failing you. I'm failing Addie! And it won't STOP! I can't STOP!" I was standing up now, after this rambling, on the very edge of the building roof, feeling the wind pushing at me, whispering in my ear.   
"Alrik!" Audrey didn't hesitate before jumping up right next to me, obviously alarmed. My jacket hung around her shoulders. I gave it to her when she got cold. "Alrik, get down from the ledge." She spoke, her voice wavering. I was still looking all the way down. She nearly stumbled, but I grabbed her arm and pushed her back off the ledge. Before I could let go, she pulled me back to the roof as well. "Alrik," She spoke softly, her voice breaking, and I finally looked at her again. She looked damn near heartbroken, and I seemed to instantly deflate. "Audrey . . . I'm . . . I'm sorry. I won't do anything stupid. I'll talk to you tomorrow." I quickly walked away, leaving my jacket behind, eyes still welling with tears as I left the stunned girl behind.


	21. JAMES : XXI

I honestly wasn't really sure how the fight started, and I didn't really care until Becky started swinging at one of the Drakons. My one of my best friends getting hurt was the only thing I wouldn't stand from those fuckers. But, instead of taking it up with them, I figured it would probably be wiser to pull her away. "BECKY! Becky, hey! Holy sh--" She elbowed me in the chest when I grabbed her arm, still swinging her other one at none other than Alrik Drakon. I didn't even know what he did to tick her off- truth be told, I was looking at Ali's phone along with him, so really, I hadn't seen- but I knew that neither of them would stop fighting until the other was on the ground. And, given Alrik being a fucking Witch, it was probably going to be Becky who hit the floor. No matter how strong she was, she wasn't strong enough for this. I pulled her back, being less gentle with my grip this time. "HEY!" I looked up at Alrik as Ali and I pulled Becky back. His lip was split and though he was smirking, the pleasure in the fight didn't reach his eyes. I couldn't tell if he was angry, or what- and I didn't care.   
"You fucking back off from her, Drakon, or I swear to God," I didn't get to finish my threat before he was dragged away by a very hacked off Bjorn and an equally pissy Edvald came over to confront us. "What was that about?" Edvald spoke with the stupid Russian accent again, but his English was considerably better than the rest of his siblings' understandings of the language. "I don't know, you fucking tell me?" I spat back, and Ali sighed, letting go of Becky momentarily and stepping forward. "Sorry, b- um, Ed, I don't know what happened? Is your brother okay?" Edvald snorted, though he became less hostile when Ali entered the conversation, noticeably.   
"I think not he has been okay ever." Okay, maybe his English wasn't too great. Ali gave him a weak smile. Becky growled. "No shit. He's a fucking douchebag, and the rest of you- all of you are fucking terrible. I know what you did!" She shouted, and I looked back at her along with Ali, whose mouth was hanging open. Maybe mine was too, I wasn't really paying attention to that. Was she seriously about to compromise our position, give everything away to this guy? "Becky, stop it. He hasn't done anything. Leave him alone." Ali said softly, slightly angry but overall hurt as Edvald stared at her head-on. "Ask him about Annalise, Ali. Ask him about his crying sister." I looked back at Edvald. Who the fuck was Annalise? He obviously knew. His expression darkened.  
"I am leave. I apologize, Alistair." He spoke, so steely, so angry. I could almost feel layers of rage below his skin. But I wasn't Ali, and even if I did have his power, I wouldn't be able to feel it anyways. But I just couldn't shake that feeling that there was something there, even as he continued to walk away. I looked over to where I saw Bjorn heading. Sure enough, he was staring at us, like he heard everything that was said. Hell, maybe he did. But once he saw me looking, a cheshire grin curled his lips like a hair iron. I looked away again. For some reason, I felt all hot now. I huffed lightly.  
"What the fuck was that about, Becky? Who's Annalise?" Ali asked in shouting whispers, and I kept looking up at the brothers every few moments. The way they just kept looking over, unblinking, unflinching- it was like they were a school of sharks. It genuinely scared me. Bjorn seemed curious when I looked at him, though. I wish I could have trusted him. I wish . . .  
"Come on. We have to go . . . Somewhere else." Becky murmured, touching her tender jaw, which was sure to bruise soon enough. Ali looked upset still, and, like me, kept glancing over at the brothers, but we agreed to follow her as soon as she started moving in the direction of her and Ali's room. I was actually curious as to what she had to say, but I knew Ali probably just wanted her to say whatever it was and then go and apologize to the Drakons to settle things down. I couldn't say I really disagreed with that plan of action because even though they were jackasses, they were powerful jackasses. We didn't need them looking over our shoulders now too. I knew Becky hadn't meant to do that, though. She was just a bit hot-headed sometimes, and she couldn't help it- it wasn't her fault. She wouldn't have reacted so violently if Alrik hadn't pushed her buttons.   
As soon as she closed the door, Ali burst on her again. "What the hell, Becky!" She seemed regretful already. "I'm sorry, Ali. I shouldn't have said that to him. I'll apologize to him later, as soon as I can, but . . ." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, but Ali wasn't looking over, and thus didn't see her do it. "Why did you even punch Alrik in the first place?" He asked, exasperated. She seemed vaguely offended, but I told her with my eyes to immediately stop her process of anger. "He provoked me." She answered simply, and I sighed through my nostrils. Ali scoffed. If he was trying to calm himself down, he wasn't doing a very good job at it in the present. Though, I didn't really blame him for being so out of control. The entities must have been driving him crazy since he got her. Besides, as Becky proved, emotions were hard to control. "What did he do? Breathe?" Becky clenched her jaw, trying to keep from saying anything inflammatory to make it all even worse.  
"Look, I'm sorry, really, but I need to show you this." "Show me WHAT?" Ali exclaimed, turning around and then looking at the piece of paper in her hand. "What is that?" I asked, and she bit her lower lip, unfolding the piece of paper. "Betsy and I were approached by one of the Drakon sisters today, and she literally couldn't speak. She said they took her voice. And . . . Something worse." She gazed at the paper before handing it to me. One particular sentence caught my eye. 'They're going to wipe humans out, and to do that they're going to take over the world.' I looked up at Becky before passing it to Ali. "We can't say another word about this. Not to anyone but the people we're with." A tiny sob came from the corner of the room and every hair on my body stood up and I let out a loud shout. "What the fuck is that!" A girl ran out from behind Becky's bed, where she had been hiding, and Ali shrieked. I realized it was the Drakon Becky was talking about. Annalise.  
Becky sighed. "I'm sorry, she doesn't feel safe going back to her room, and since we have a spare bed in here . . ." "Dude, no! Put her in Sam's room or something!" I immediately exclaimed. "Why the fuck would I--" "So they don't come into our room in the middle of the night and kill us? I mean, they don't suspect Sam and June of anything, I don't think." Ali continued. Annalise whimpered. "Okay, fine. But we need to keep her safe." Questions began to bubble up in my mind. How were they going to take over? What were they going to do next? Why? And would I survive the takeover?


	22. BECKY : XXII

When the rest of them found out about Annalise, she was quickly moved into Sam and June's room. Luckily, there was nothing in her old room that she desperately needed, meaning we didn't need to risk our lives going back to get anything. Yeah, it sounded kind of dramatic, but it was hard not to be dramatic when you were so . . . Scared. And I was. I was really scared. I was really angry, but I was still shaken to my core about just the first night, about all my unanswered questions, about everything. Could anyone really blame me? How would you react if your country went to war? How would you react if you were involved when the first attack came, when the fire came raining down on your damn high school? How would you react if your parents were sent off to god-knows-where to do something they didn't want to do for the government, but were forced to do because the military was so depleted? How would you react if you were sent off to some place off in the countryside, off into the woods, a place where no one was supposed to find you, only for outsiders to come, making it possible to give you away and get everyone you know and love killed? How would you react if you had been trying your hardest, if your life was being threatened every moment, and you couldn't do anything about it? How would you feel if the lives of the people you loved were in your hands, and you were failing? Would you feel like I was overreacting now? Would you feel like I was making a scene once you were met with such horror, such undeniable terror, such dread seeping through every pore? No.  
Percy climbed up onto my bed. She'd gotten a bit bigger over the past few weeks. I couldn't think about her growth, though. All I could think about was that this was the dragon. This was the stupid diamond dragon that ruined my life. I stroked her fur and she laid down on my leg. It wasn't really her fault. She didn't know. She was given orders, and she couldn't think for herself. The people who sent her could. And they did. They only thought of themselves. I combed my fingers through my hair as Percy looked up at me with her deep, chocolate eyes. It wasn't her fault. As I continued to lay on my bed, alone, I heard a knock on the door. A soft, timid knock. Betsy, maybe. "Yeah," I answered, letting her know I was awake. She slowly opened the door, and sure enough, the perky blonde peered through the crack between the door and the doorway. "Hey," she paused, speaking softly. "Everyone's going downstairs for dinner. Wanna come?" She inquired, and I sighed softly as Percy got up off my leg and jumped off the bed, immediately going to say hi to Betsy. She smiled softly and gently patted her head. "We could take Percy if you want. We'd have to be discreet, though." She spoke, gently picking up the puppy and resting Percy on her hip. I thought for a moment. "Yeah. I think she needs to go out anyways." I answered.   
I wasn't overly eager to go back downstairs after the fiasco with Alrik, but I doubted he'd be there again. Over the past couple of weeks, I'd only seen him twice. Once, talking with some brunette girl in the atrium who obviously hadn't gotten a warning about him or his idiot girlfriend. The second time, that afternoon, when, not only did he steal one of my fries without being my friend, he also asked me how my conspiracy theories were. I guessed he didn't know what kind of pressure he was putting me under, and you know what? I wasn't about to let him know. I wasn't about to let any one of them have power over me like that. I would rather choke than let them know how scared I was. And besides, they were just teenagers. They weren't what I should've been scared of. If anything, I should've been scared of their father. He was obviously the only one who actually had any control over the outcome of this little excursion to a Lorusian safe house, and we all knew it.   
But then I thought about how Alrik was often missing. Was Addie the one doing this? It was either he was really whipped, or . . . I shook the thought out of my head. I couldn't speculate things like that. I needed proof. Though, I did remember seeing something on Alrik's midriff . . .   
Once Betsy and I got down the stairs- Betsy still holding Percy in her arms like the puppy didn't know how to walk yet- I was immediately greeted by the sight of Sam, June, Ali, James, Theo and Eli, all sitting at one long table. Theo cooed when she saw Percy. "Give her to me. Oh, what a sweetheart." Theo opened her arms and received the pup as Sam looked at me and frowned. "What happened to your face?" He asked of me, and I absentmindedly touched my jaw. Even though I only skimmed it, it still kind of hurt. "Fight," I spoke, my voice hoarse. I sat down. I decided I didn't really want to talk, so instead, I listened. I listened as Ali gushed about Edvald. I listened as James tried to decipher Bjorn's weird actions. I listened as Sam gave helpful advice to everyone who asked. I listened as Percy barked, making Betsy laugh. I listened as Theo flirted. I listened as Eli threw out a few sarcastic remarks whenever someone said something ridiculous. I just listened. And for a moment, as I thought about everyone else, about their feelings instead of my own, everything seemed all right.   
Everything was okay, until I turned around and saw Addie walking towards me. Everything inside me snapped when she slapped me in the face.


	23. ALRIK : XXIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for domestic abuse

"Where _were_ you?" Addie's voice shook as soon as we got back to the room. It was either she was scared by me, or extremely angry with me. I think you already know which one it was, as always. She had finally fetched me after Becky punched me in the face. Yeah, I provoked her. It was the only way I could . . . get my mind off things. The only way I could get out of the grasp of my brothers. They knew something was up. It turned out it just sent me back into their grasp again after she fought me. I obviously took my task too far. But that didn't matter now. Because when Addie showed up, I was able to slip away, and into something that made me feel even worse, somehow.  
"Out in the atrium. You saw." I thought it wouldn't be especially wise to tell her I had been spending time with a friend . . . A female friend. I felt bad about lying to her, but I knew it would hurt more if she knew. I would probably never talk to Audrey again. I didn't know. All I knew was that Audrey made me feel nice. She was my friend. I needed one of those. She continued to shake, and before I could comprehend what was happening, she slapped me straight across the face. My cheek quickly began to smart. It wasn't as bad as it was a few days ago, when she caught me talking to Audrey again.  
"I'm not stupid. Were you talking to that _girl_ again?" She accused, and my eyes stung. I looked away. "Fucking _look_ at me!" She picked up a book and angrily threw it in my direction. I flinched at the sound of it crashing into the wall. I looked at her again, still tearing up. She just scoffed, tears of her own brewing, but they were so angry . . . _So angry_ . . . "Man UP, Alrik! I can't believe you! You're _cheating_ on me?" Her voice broke, and I felt my heart break along with it. "I would never cheat on you. I _love_ y--" "Where's your jacket, then?" My heart dropped. I was too slow. She was already at the door as soon as she finished her question. "Addie-" "NO! JUST SHUT UP, ALRIK! LET'S GO FIND YOUR FUCKING JACKET, YEAH? IN THE ATRIUM, RIGHT? LET'S GO FIND YOUR FUCKING JACKET!" She screamed, throwing the door open and stomping out barefoot with a sweater hanging loosely over her delicate frame. I stumbled after her.  
"Addie, please--" I couldn't bring myself to yell at her. I already knew what happened when I yelled at her. It wasn't so sweet. "FUCK YOU, ALRIK!" She cut me off immediately, already starting down the stairs as I put myself together, trying not to cry, following after her. "Addie, stop, please. I never--" "YOU'RE CHOOSING HER OVER ME, DAY AND NIGHT. LET'S GO FIND OUT WHO IT IS THIS TIME! AUDREY? ONE OF YOUR SISTERS? I AM THE ONLY ONE YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON, OR OUR RELATIONSHIP WON'T GROW!" She shrieked, and even before we entered the atrium, I could feel all eyes on us.   
"Addie!" I exclaimed as she looked angrily around the atrium. Everyone was staring at us. Everyone. I felt so exposed, like I had walked out of the room naked. The feeling made me want to scream. Oh, god, not this. Please, god, just spare me. Someone, please make her stop. Some people averted their eyes when they caught sight of Addie. Some looked over at me and laughed at my helplessness. "WHERE ARE YOU, BITCH! WHERE IS THE FUCKING _BITCH_ WHO THINKS SHE CAN HAVE MY MAN?" Addie shouted, tears of frustration in her eyes, when suddenly, she lowered her arms and became deadly quiet. She stormed over to a corner of the atrium, and it was too late that I realized it was Becky she was heading for. I ran after her as fast as I could, but before I reached them, a smack, an impact of skin against skin echoed across the entire room. I stopped in my tracks, feeling like the air had been knocked out of my lungs. Alistair, my brother's boyfriend, was the first to jump to his feet. The second I took a step forward to stop him, he swung and punched Addie right in the nose. His form flickered as I came closer, increasing in speed as Addie wailed.  
It seemed like it took a moment for Becky to realize what happened, and when she did, the moment I reached them, she tackled Addie to the ground. I tried to pull her off, shouting at her to get away from Addie, but I was quickly shoved away by James. "Control your fucking girlfriend!" James shouted, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that I couldn't. Addie screamed my name, but my ears rang so much from her bout of yelling earlier that I could barely hear. Or maybe it was . . . I started to shake, started to feel my mind shut down. What was going on?  
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! HELP ME! ALRIK!" Addie screamed, blood streaming from her nose as Becky whaled on her, drowning out her other cries for help. My heart beat faster, but somehow I managed to pull Becky off. "Get off me. GET _OFF_!" Becky shouted, still looking down at Addie. I could tell she wasn't really angry at me. Not like everyone else was. She didn't make me feel like it was my fault. But then she looked at me with her withering glare, and I wasn't so sure anymore. "I'm . . . Sorry." I let go of her. "Alrik?" I heard Audrey's voice and I turned, seeing her holding my jacket. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the floor. Addie was gone. I had a bruise on my cheek, forming fast. What was happening to me? What had I done?


	24. JAMES : XXIV

So after Alrik basically collapsed and became unresponsive, we decided to take him up to Becky and Ali's room, where Aria was watching Annalise. I had no idea what was wrong with the dude- maybe Becky hit him in the head too hard earlier, or maybe it was something else. He looked pretty shaken up, was the point. Annalise kept patting his back and his shoulder, but I wasn't exactly sure that was really helping him. He hadn't spoken a word so far. I was beginning to become worried in the back of my mind, but I had mostly lost my ability to really care about the Drakons and what was up with them. It just wasn't very interesting anymore. It had been a few weeks and nothing had really happened besides the one fight where he stole a fucking fry, apparently, before Becky went apeshit. I thought maybe she was taking this whole "they're sketchy" thing to a level too high for the situation, truth be told. Yeah, they really were sketchy, but there were a lot of ways that their actions could be justified, and I was sure I wasn't the only one thinking it. I wouldn't be the one to say it, though. Not yet. Not until I was proven right. Only then would I tell her I thought so. I didn't want to lose a friend because she was being weird over something.   
Anyways, on the walk up to the room, we met Audrey Xavier, Betsy's roommate. She was friends with Alrik, for some reason I couldn't comprehend because I honestly didn't see anything about him that was worthy of anyone's attention except for his looks. Maybe she wanted his dick or something. Whatever. I watched her as both she and Sam walked over to Alrik, sitting next to him on the middle bed in the room, the bed that I had been using. I was a little salty about that, I wasn't going to lie. Just a little. Annalise scooted over to make space for Audrey, who gave her a smile before turning her attention to Alrik. I knew Becky, Ali, and June were murmuring about something, but, like Betsy and Aria, I was completely tuned out.  
"Becky, no." I heard Ali suddenly say, and I quickly focused once again. "Hm?" I inquired non-verbally, and Becky sighed loudly, clearly exasperated that Ali wasn't allowing her to do something that was probably crazy or just really weird. "Ali, please. You can get my apology to him and at the same time, you can get some answers about his behavior and the behavior of his siblings!" She exclaimed, and I had a realization of what she was trying to get him to do. Ali shook his head. "I've been trying to get information out of him, it doesn't work. God, can you just let me nut again before you ruin my relationship for good?" I stifled a laugh before defending him.  
"Becky, you ever consider they might not have an ulterior motive?" I pointed out, and she looked at me, her expression clearly incredulous. "James, are you serious?" She paused and I shrugged. "Wow. So, I guess we're back to square one, right? Great. I should've never told you guys. All this evidence," she balled up Annalise's paper and threw it at me, "and you guys just ignore it anyways. But yeah. I'm the delusional one." The ball bounced off my chest and fell to the floor. "And what does that mean?" I demanded, but before I could stop myself, before she could even think of a reply, before she could even open her mouth, a rage bubble built in my chest and I exploded. "We're ignoring you and your crazy theory? The same theory that has us training all the fucking time for no reason? The same theory that is making Ali's job controlling the entities even harder because they're all stirred up? The same theory that's got me so damn paranoid I have trouble getting to sleep at night? Sure." I paused again before having another thought. "Maybe we should just ignore it like you think we are, and stop humoring this shit that, so far, has only put us in danger, because, believe it or not, people don't like rumors being spread about them that could get them into serious trouble with the fucking police!"   
Percy whimpered, and it was only then that I realized I had been shouting. Becky looked angry and hurt, but I was too pissed to care anymore. Eli put a hand on my shoulder, but I ignored it. "It really seems like all you care about anymore is fucking daydreams, more than your fucking friends who have stood by you, stood by you through so much shit . . ." I laughed bitterly. "And don't worry. You don't need to tell me to get out of your room. I know when I'm not wanted, and honestly? I can't be bothered trying to keep up with your stupid shit anymore." I strode over to the door, looking everywhere but the faces of everyone who'd been listening in. "James-" I heard Becky begin, and I just scoffed, feeling slightly empty as I swung the door open. "Save it. Call me back when you're done with these fairytales and conspiracy theories. Oh, wait, you can't call me, 'cause my phone was stolen when Ali was attacked because you think you have some sixth sense and you can tell people are evil just by looking at them." I looked back at her, and instead of seeing some vulnerability, something that might've snapped me out of my rage, I just saw a stone-cold expression, even in her eyes, shiny as they were. I made sure to slam the door behind me on my way out.  
I was only halfway to the stairs when Ali burst out of the room, immediately running straight for me. "James! Stop! Someone is messing with your head!" I growled, continuing to stalk towards the stairs before he skidded to a stop in front of the stairwell. "The only one messing with my head is Becky. Get out of my way, Alistair, or I swear to God. I'm really not in the mood for these fucking conspiracy theories. I've had enough of being overworked for no fucking reason just because Becky wants to start drama with the new kids." He didn't move an inch. "James, I'm being serious. I agree, Becky might be going a bit overboard with the paranoia and the training, but there's someone messing with your thoughts. They might be the reason you're saying these things, the reason you're so angry, James, plea--" I cut him off, getting louder and louder with each word. "Or maybe the reason why I'm saying these things is because I think them. Maybe the reason I'm so angry is because of SHIT LIKE _THIS_!" I yelled, roughly shoving him out of the way.   
Somewhere deep in my mind, I knew I was acting strangely, and I felt terrible for doing that to Becky and Ali, but these thoughts were quickly pushed aside, out of my mind, and replaced with directions. Down to the ground floor. Two rights. One left. Down to the end of the hall. At that point, I wasn't sure if I was in control of my own body and its movements anymore. Where were these directions leading me to? What was going to happen to me once I got there? What was happening to me right now? I should have listened to Ali. Oh my god, a voice in my mind spoke a thought to me, you're a telepath, James, just block it out. I closed my eyes, still walking, trying to find a way to shut this down. A shooting pain hit me between the eyes and I hissed, my eyes beginning to water as I opened them. I managed to at last block out the instructions, but by the time I did, I wasn't sure if I had actually stopped them, or if the other person did. The reason for the confusion was because I was currently facing the exact door at the end of the hallway one left and two rights from the stairwell I had only exited a couple of minutes ago. There was no going back now, I figured. I didn't know if even my own siblings would let me back in my room. I knocked on the door, and it slowly swung open.  
Sitting in a rolling office chair was Edmund from the train. He slowly turned to face me. Thought he looked like a bad joke, I still felt terrified. His eyes glinted in the dim light. "Hello. I've been waiting for you. Come in." He paused graciously as I walked in before the door closed quietly behind me. It was silent for a moment, and we just stared at each other. He cleared his throat. "I apologize for the lighting, Ms. Johnson told us to conserve the electricity." He swallowed before scratching his neck awkwardly. I just stared at him. "Right." We continued to stare at each other blankly. "Right," He echoed me, pausing. "How would you like to stay with royalty for the time being?" My heart pounded in my chest. He could just control me if he wanted to. Why would he bother asking? "Do I have a choice?" I asked.   
He smiled.  
"No."


	25. BECKY : XXV

I fell asleep crying. Everything that James had said embarrassed me so much, and as angry as it made me, it still hurt. It hurt to have someone who you thought was your best friend discredit you in front of all of your mutual friends. It felt even worse when you blamed yourself. Maybe I was just overreacting. Maybe that was why no one believed me- what if no one else saw what I saw? Did I deserve this? To lose James, because of everything I was doing to try and protect my friends? I still didn't think so, but given my self-esteem, it would probably only take another day for that to change, and I would probably go completely against myself and become miserable. Who was I kidding? I was already perfectly miserable. When James slammed the door, my heart shattered.  
I was awake now. I was surprised I was able to get to sleep in the first place, given that my stomach twisting in embarrassment and guilt. I guess it was just pure exhaustion that lulled me into dreamland. And yeah, I was in a bad mood after the fist fight with Alrik, but now, I was in an even worse mood. Last time it was just two of my friends mad at me. Now I felt like all of them were.   
I watched as sunlight filtered into the room through a crack in the blackout curtains near my bed. The thin strip of sunlight made a stripe on the middle bed's mattress. I watched dust fly through the air as Percy huffed in her sleep. It was peaceful. I could almost feel the warmth of the sun from here. I wiped my eyes slightly as I felt tears welling and then turned on my side. I was lucky no one was in the room with me.   
I slipped my phone out from my bra and checked my messages. My eyes seemed to immediately shoot open when I saw who texted me. At first I thought maybe it was a Drakon, giving me more evidence, more proof that they were up to something. But then I actually read the message. _'I'm staying with Bjorn for a little while. He got me my phone back from someone else. Please leave me alone. Don't try to find me. I want to be away from the conspiracy theory shit for at least a while.'_ My heart sank. Was this the end of our lifelong friendship? Tears burned behind my eyes more fiercely as I went to text Betsy and Alistair with a screenshot of what he had said before locking my phone as soon as the texts were sent. If James was able to text, maybe they trusted him. Maybe they weren't going to hurt him. But then again, it couldn't be guaranteed that it was really James texting. It could've been the Drakon from before, the one who stole it in the first place. All I knew is that I wanted him back as soon as possible, and I wanted him in one piece. If the Drakons really did have him, and were holding him hostage, there was no guarantee he would come out the same. I thought of what they did to Annalise and I was panic-stricken.  
I heard the text tone and quickly checked my texts. _'Call a meeting?'_ Betsy sent back, while Ali seemed unconcerned. _'I'll check with Edvald. One second.'_ I chewed my lower lip softly. _'Where is everyone?'_ I texted to Betsy, who replied immediately. _'Training. Wanna come down, or should we come to you?'_ I thought for a moment. It would probably be more secure down there, given that, to my knowledge, no one else knew about the room besides all of us. _'I'm coming down.'_ I got myself dressed in loose clothing, not even bothering to put any shoes on as I headed downstairs.   
The clothing was airy, and after my rather stuffy first hour in the blankets, the feeling of the soft cloth giving my skin air was much better than I could have anticipated. My body felt lighter, the emotional weight on my chest less heavy somehow. The feeling of the cool marble under my feet almost felt like cold, grassy, flat ground.I felt this undeniable feeling of deja vu at the sensations, but I couldn't place where I had felt these feelings before. I practically flew down the stairs and down to the basement, quickly finding my way over to the door to the sublevel. "I'M HERE!" I shouted, almost breathless as I descended the last flight of stairs at a frightening pace. There were a couple of times that I thought I would smash my face into the ground and fall the rest of the way down, but my balance, to my luck, did not betray me, did not falter as I went down. I stopped quickly at the bottom, nearly smacking into the wall only a yard away from the end of the stairs, but I managed to stop myself before getting that far. I looked at the rest of them, my eyes immediately finding Alrik at first before my gaze flicked over to Betsy, who was heading towards me with her brow furrowed and her lips pursed.   
"What's going on?" Eli asked, approaching me, and he was followed by Theo, both of them eager for news of their brother. Slowly, a circle formed around me, as everyone listened closely for any more news on James and what had happened to him last night after he left. All we really knew was that he was angry enough to push Ali and angry enough to refuse to come back. Both of these things were extremely unlike him, and though that thought gave me solace, I couldn't help but remember what pushed him to that point- me. I had done it. And despite him acting out of character, I didn't think that everything he said was not what he was thinking. That hurt, a lot. I'd be a fool to even try and deny it. James was my best friend. Of course it hurt. But maybe he was right. Maybe I should just . . . stop. Stop chasing this. It didn't seem to be getting me or anyone else anywhere, though we seemed to end up plenty hurt because of it. But, I wasn't going to quit. Not yet.   
"I think . . . I think the Drakons and the Alexanders got James." I began. Sam furrowed his brow. "How do you know?" Ali sighed softly at his question and began to answer. "Becky got a text from James this morning, which is memorably odd because his phone was stolen at the same time that I was attacked. He would've had to go to them or whoever stole it if he wanted it back." I looked at Alrik, hoping he would say something. Annalise couldn't talk, and, based on all the answers we got from her, she wasn't in the inner circle. Alrik, however . . . He looked like he had at least some authority. The problem was that he had gone into a sort of shock last night, and he hadn't spoken a word. I just hoped he hadn't been muted too.  
"You know about the Alexanders?" He spoke up quietly, and suddenly, all eyes were on him. My heart raced. He still had the stupid accent, but he was speaking normally. I resisted the urge to laugh extremely loudly and tell everyone that I knew he knew more English than he was letting on. I nodded softly in response to his question. "Reina and Edmund, right?" He licked his lips at my return question, looking around like he expected them to come popping up out of nowhere. "It's not just them. Tove, Hans, Asta, Amalia, Titus, Ansel, Aristeo, Augustus, Arleigh, Finn, Lilith,Rhiannon, Rebekah, Viktoria, Lucian, Rosalie . . . They are all Alexanders. Every one of them is a Witch. I . . . I am not." I furrowed my brow. "How are you not a Witch?" He just simply shook his head. "It's a long story." He said simply. I just shook my head and turned back to the rest of the group. "Anyways, Ali said that there was something wrong with James last night, something messing with his head, but he didn't know what it was. I think I do. I think it was one of them. Maybe Bjorn." Alrik immediately shook his head. I raised a brow. "Bjorn is . . . Bad, but he is not . . . He is not that." I paused, just staring at him before continuing. "Okay, so not Bjorn." Alrik raised his hand, and I just stared at him again until he put his hand down. "It may be Edmund. He is powerful, and old. He will stop at nothing to please our father." His voice gradually got quieter with every word. "I have seen it." I was slightly caught off-guard by his remarks.   
When I first saw him, he seemed so mysterious, and a lot like Jordan, like just some insufferable asshole who couldn't help but to try to make himself look cool at every opportunity that he had. But Jordan was just that, an asshole. Alrik was . . . I wasn't sure if it was good or bad that his asshole-ish appearance was just a front. "Okay," I started again, unsure of how to lead from that point, my voice soft. It couldn't have been easy for him to be here. Knowing that there were people in his own family that could kill him for this, knowing that he would probably have no chance. I felt a pinch of sympathy for him, but I knew I needed to move on. I needed to make sure that James was safe before I could sympathize.   
"Should we look for him?" Audrey asked, and I quickly nodded. "Becky . . . I don't think he'll like that." Ali spoke uncertainly, and the memories from last night stung in the back of my mind. I could tell everyone else had those images conjured to the front as well, except for Audrey and Alrik. Or maybe they were just good at hiding it. I simply soldiered on through the stares. "I know, but I can't risk him being in trouble. I won't let him get hurt just because I got . . . Pissy when he yelled at me." I would have said "scared" but I still wasn't sure about half the members of this group. And, like any prideful person, I didn't want to be seen as weak for being scared, even if it was already obvious that I clearly wasn't in my right mind. Yet, despite being determined to push through and keep talking despite the expressions on their faces, my gaze fell to the floor after about twenty seconds of silence, the lack of noise breaking up my resolve with every moment.   
"I- I could show you the rooms. The rooms where the Alexanders and the rest of the Drakons are staying." I looked up at Alrik with a surge of gratitude. "That would be great." I told him, and I think now we both felt more at ease. Theo cleared her throat. "Do we split up? I don't think it would be very wise for all of us to go into their rooms at the same time. Not very stealthy either. Besides, if one of us gets caught snooping, it will be less of a loss than if all of us are." She spoke, explaining her logic, and I just shrugged before deciding to take the lead since no one else was doing that.   
"Theo, you go with Eli and Aria. Sam, go with Annalise and Audrey. Betsy, go with June. Ali and Alrik are coming with me because we have the best chance of finding him, and Ali has the best chance of talking James down from whatever he's doing with the Drakons, brain control or not. I have faith in him." I looked over at Ali, who still looked vaguely doubtful, but he nodded, not repulsed enough by my plan to go completely against it. That was something, right? My confidence was dwindling, and though it was hurt badly, it wasn't completely gone. At least, not yet. "This sound good?" I inquired shortly, and most of the responses were just shrugs and nods. "Okay. Great. Let's go." I didn't bother assigning places to check- I just knew that they had to check everywhere else while Alrik showed Ali and I to the Drakon rooms.   
As I climbed back up the stairs again, I felt a bit of doubt clouding my mind, weighing me down further, like sand bags tied to my feet. What if it really was James who texted me? What if nobody really messed with his thoughts, but just made him say them? And what would happen if we did find him? What if he was getting busy with Bjorn and got mad at me again and gave me another verbal lashing, this one that I would remember for good? What then? Would I just give up? Would I cry? Would I run away like he did last night? I didn't know. All I knew was that I wanted my friend back. As soon as we reached the main basement, Ali pulled me aside. Alrik waited patiently by the exit, looking away, but I had a feeling he could still hear us as we spoke.  
"Becky, since I have pathokinesis, I obviously know how you feel . . . And I know this is what you think is best, but if you just want to sit this one out, it won't make you any less strong than you are." He spoke, a hint of pity in his voice. I recoiled, despite knowing that I could be weak around him. I didn't want to be weak. And I didn't like how he phrased all of that, and the tone he was using when he said it. It didn't sound like he wanted me off this mission for my benefit. It sounds like he wanted me off this mission for his benefit. Of course, there was a self-doubting part of me that knew he must have been right in some part- besides, he probably only wanted me away so that if he found James, getting him to talk would be easier. As much as I hated to admit it, maybe bringing me around him when he was so mad just wasn't smart. But I still, deeply, wanted to go.  
"Ali . . . James is my friend." He sighed softly, knowing I had caught on, and for some reason, it made me feel like I was sinking even lower. I know this wasn't what he intended, but still, for some odd reason, ever after I had gone through something much worse from James, it hurt. "I know he's your friend, but he's mine too. Maybe I can convince him to come back. I'm sorry, but you might be a little too aggressive. But it's okay!" He added quickly to the end of his statement as he either saw or sensed my spirits drop significantly. "He's aggressive too! It's perfectly normal for teens like us. But right now, I think it's best if I talk to him . . . Alone. Okay? I'm sure after I'm done talking some sense into him, he'll be delighted to see you again, and he'll apologize." Both of us pretty much knew that this was most likely not what was going to happen, but it still made me feel a smidge better, which I knew Ali felt when he gave me a kind smile, knowing he had convinced me.  
"Okay. I'll . . . I'll be upstairs." I told him, and he wrapped his arms around my middle, giving me a warm and soft hug before breaking away and leaving the room with Alrik. I trudged back upstairs, deciding to take a shower before going back up to my room.   
As I stripped down, contemplating the cold dew on the bathroom floor tiles, I felt my hair rise on my skin. Goosebumps. The raised skin reminded me of a biology class from a couple of years ago, when our teacher Ms. Garrett explained the cause of goosebumps. "Goosebumps are created when tiny muscles at the base of each hair, known as arrector pili muscles, contract and pull the hair erect. The reflex is started by the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for many fight-or-flight responses." I murmured as I put my clothes on a rack. "They may involuntarily develop when a person is cold or experiences strong emotions such as fear, euphoria or sexual arousal." I pulled a towel down from a different rack and wrapped it around myself as I stripped off my last clothing items, down to my underwear. I was too paranoid to just strip naked. A lot of people came in these showers. Actually, a lot of people came in these showers. And some of them peed. Gross. My point is, I didn't want to be in there stark naked.   
I went into one of the stalls, pulling the curtain closed behind me and finally stripping off the towel in the cubicle darker than the rest of the room. I put it on a hook on the wall next to me before hesitantly reaching out for the tap and turning it before running behind the shower head, out of the way of the ridiculously cold water. Over the past couple of weeks, I had learned how to use the shower without freezing to death within the first minute, and it was certainly coming in handy right now, while also keeping me from thinking about what happened with James. I reached my hand out to touch the streams of water emerging from the shower head to find them pleasantly warm, and I slowly stepped into the embrace of the hot water encasing my body.   
I wasn't sure how long I was in there, but it was long enough for the water to go cold, which slowly drew me out of it. I slowly turned it off, letting the last of the warm water soak my skin before I wrapped myself up in the soft towel and stepped out of the shower. I was too lazy to get redressed, instead just grabbing my clothes again and walking back to my room. Once I got there, I checked my phone, wondering if they had found James yet.  
But as soon as I saw the picture and the text paired with it, I was less relieved and even more scared that before.   
_'Nothing is wrong with him anymore. Whatever presence screwing with him before is gone.'_  
And so it was. But that didn't change the fact that James, of his own free will, was sitting across from Bjorn Drakon.


	26. ALRIK : XXVI

After Alistair- or as he told me to call him, Ali- and I found James, I discouraged him from going up to the two of them- I knew my brother well, and I knew he wouldn't like to be interrupted deep in conversation. Not only that, but Bjorn didn't know that I was on the other side now, and I intended to keep it that way. Ali agreed with me, so instead we took the picture and made the trek back up to Becky's room as Ali notified everyone else, besides James, that he had been found.   
I was the one to knock on the door to the bedroom, and Ali just gave me a weird look. "Dude, this is my room too. You can just go in." We stared at each other for a moment, neither of us hearing a response from Becky yet. "Oh. Right," I spoke awkwardly, and he gave me another strange look before opening the door. Becky stared at the two of us, eyes lazily following us as we entered the room. She looked positively glum. Well, not positively. You know what I mean.   
"Hello." I greeted her, and she sighed softly before sucking in a breath, as if she was trying to work up the energy to speak. I knew how that felt, to be so exhausted, so emotionally drained that you could barely speak. But usually, I forced myself out of it. She didn't have to. It must have been a luxury. "James won't answer my texts." I heard Ali's hands hit his face. "Becky Marilyn Barnes! You did NOT text him!" Becky just blinked. "He left me on read anyways." She spoke nonchalantly as Ali tried to make a grab for her phone. Instead of letting him have it, she shoved it in her bra. I nearly laughed at that, but given the entire situation we were all in and the expression on her face, it didn't seem quite appropriate, now, did it?  
"Becky." Ali spoke, beginning his statement sharply to let her know he meant business. "What did you text him?" There was a pause before Becky answered, and I could tell Ali was getting more and more anxious by the moment. Poor guy. He was just trying to hold his group together as best as he could. "I asked if they were together." Ali groaned, putting his head in his hands before dragging his palms down his face. "I also asked if Bjorn was playing on James' sexuality." I snorted slightly. There must not have been many gay people in Lorus if all Bjorn needed to do was a second of seduction. Besides, I was fairly sure he was already with someone else. As soon as he turned fifteen, he started sneaking out of our room in the middle of the night to see someone. But I didn't see this. I didn't find it to be relevant information, honestly.  
"And then . . ." Ali groaned as she began to speak again. "No, please, God, I don't want to hear it." She paused before resuming her sentence. "And then he left me on read. That's all." Ali groaned even louder. "Of course he left you on read. Anyone in their right mind- or not in their right mind- would leave you on read after you tried to out him!" "Well, I'm sorry, I wanted to know what the hell Bjorn was doing and I was the only one with the balls to do it, clearly!" "Becky," he paused, his temper seeming to grow before my very eyes, "Abbadon is not happy at the moment, but I'm not arguing with you. Just don't text him again. He won't reply anyways." Becky just seemed to sigh in response. "I'm going to go get everyone else and make sure we're all in one piece." Ali spoke, calmed down significantly now- though I suspected he was only hiding his true feelings about Becky's texts- before he walked out the door, leaving me alone with Miss Barnes. We just seemed to look at each other for a moment before I spoke.  
"Why are you so worried?" She let out an empty laugh. "I'm worried because your siblings hurt Ali the first time when he was barely in their grasp, and I can't even imagine what they'll do to James when he's all alone with no one there in the room with him to help him, no one coming for him--" I cut her off there, understanding her point immediately. "But there are people coming for him. There's you, and Alistair, and all of us. Every one of us is looking out for him, and I promise he will not be alone. I will spy for you, just to make sure he is safe. I will not let any harm come to him, I promise you that." I moved over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed, but she made no move to stop me. Our eyes met, and for a moment, there was silence. She sagged slightly, seeming to relax a little bit more at my words. Even though we had been fighting the other day, we seemed more at ease with each other than I thought possible. Of course, I had promised her a lot, which probably helped for her end, but what was it for me that made me relax around her? Maybe it was just something that was happening in the moment, maybe it was just because she looked tired and more dead than usual. Maybe it was because her eyes reminded me of the small butterfly illusions that Ingimarr conjured in the cell. Maybe it was the silence that comforted me, or the silence of the room. But I wasn't quite sure.  
"Okay." She spoke softly, and I could tell that she was on the verge of tears. I didn't blame her for not wanting to say anything else. We were supposed to be enemies after all, it wasn't going to be so easy getting over that. But I would try. I would try. "We should wait until the others get here to decide if you should go back in or not. I mean, they kind of seem to know everything . . ." I nodded softly in agreement. "I know. But just know . . . I will do my utmost to protect him from any actions they might take against him." I promised.   
Becky wasn't nearly as bad as I thought she was going to be. I thought she'd be louder in private- shut up, not in that way- but she was more calm, more somber. Maybe that was just because of the circumstances. I supposed you couldn't just expect everyone to be annoyingly cheerful during a war. I was anxious about coming into the light of Lorus, but now that I saw this country's children after what Drakon did to them, I realized that the emerging of the country of Drakon actually plunged everything into the darkness of war rather than shedding light on us, spreading the truth. It seemed to bathe everything and everyone in a dark, sullen, gray aura, suffocating us all like smoke, Lorusian or Drakonic.  
My next thought jolted through me like a lightning bolt. Did Becky and her friends think this was all our fault? I wouldn't have been surprised if they did. War, whether you were a soldier or a child back home, warped the minds of everyone it touched, creating needless fear of people who you would otherwise consider good.   
And I . . . I was the soldier, the personally sent assassin son of the man who sent out the war dragon that started it all. I wondered if I should have said something about that, but I could tell that the last thing she wanted to talk about was what was happening in the world right now. She was already glum enough without actively thinking about it. I was sure those thoughts were active in the back of her head anyways without my help. I didn't know why I wanted to talk about it so much, why i wanted so bad to explain myself, but I didn't like feeling uncomfortable, which was exactly what this situation was. And I didn't like feeling like a bad guy.  
"Why are you here?" She whispered. "In this room?" I asked dumbly, though I was fairly sure I knew what she was actually referring to as "here." "No. Why are you . . . here?" She made a big gesture with her hands spread out before dropping them down next to her on the bed. She wasn't very eloquent with her question, but I understood what she meant anyways. I sighed before beginning my story. "The Shadow King sent us, though I'm sure you've figured that out by now . . ." I paused as she nodded. "To do what?" Just the sound of the his name made the hairs on my the back of my neck and my arms stand up, and before I knew it, I was lost.

* * *

_The searing pain of being burned is not something I would forget. I was stuck in the burning room again, smoke filling my lungs before I could scream, muscles weakening before I could push debris out of my way. I was quickly running out of time. You didn't need to be old or wise to understand that much. I knew that because, at the time of this fire, I was five years old._   
_I was trying to use my abilities to escape, but the burning wood scorched my hands and I wasn't strong enough yet. There was no escape, no hope of another tomorrow. My lungs and eyes were tortured, and I felt faint. I dropped to my knees, too weak to stand, too tired to yell for help. The fire was out so quickly the second my knees touched the ground that I knew it had to be magic. Someone had come to my rescue._   
_Tears rolled down my cheeks as the smoke cleared, and the King himself approached me, his face obscured by a hood and the rest of him covered by a rather long black robe. "Stand." He spoke. It would have been better if he yelled at me, if he at least showed some emotion, even if it wasn't concern for my health, even if he wasn't going to ask how I was, even if he wasn't going to comfort me like I needed him to._   
_I wobbled, stumbling until I finally stood, and he knelt before me. I could see his face now, and I almost wish I hadn't looked. No, not almost. I really did wish I hadn't, the longer I looked at it. It was thin and grey, his green eyes surrounded by sunken in, purplish-blue flesh, like he hadn't slept in a century. Maybe he hadn't I didn't know. He could have been far older than I had ever dreamed. After all, he did have children that were over a century old. His lips were thin and nearly white. He looked severely malnourished, and I hadn't even focused my attention on his Glasgow smile yet. Two incisions from the corners of his mouth extending outward, over his cheeks, up to his ears. The scars were now thin and white, but the memory was still there, I could tell. Torture was not something you could forget easily either. It almost made me feel sorry for him. Almost._   
_He didn't look anything like a normal person. He looked like some type of ancient vampire. But at that time, I wasn't exactly sure of that. I barely knew what "normal" really was. I knew nothing. I was only five._   
_A bony, gray hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling my arm, and me, to him. His muted green eyes surveyed the horrifically burned, previously soft skin under my forearm. I could still feel his cold, strong, stony grip on my still hot arm. He paid no attention to the tears spilling from my sky blue eyes down my ashen cheeks. He brushed his other hand over the arm, talon-like nails grazing the burns and making me flinch before the skin quickly healed. I nearly sobbed a thank-you, but I was soon paralyzed by fear when his eyes met mine. He was not pleased that I met his gaze._   
_"I am your salvation." He whispered to me, and I shrieked, looking down at my arm in horror as he branded me with one word: "Soldier."_

* * *

"Oh my god, is he okay? I left for ten minutes!" My eyes were closed and I was on the floor, but I knew I hadn't fainted. I had another experience. I tugged my already long sleeves up to my fingertips as I curled up on the floor, trying to control my breathing and not opening my eyes for the life of me. "Alrik?" I heard Audrey's soft voice as though I was listening through water, and I shuddered, quickly opening my eyes and shooting up to my feet. Everyone who was training was now back in the room, and I felt claustrophobic. "M- Move." I stuttered out, my head shaking. I wasn't going to cry in front of them. This was private, this was personal. Audrey looked at me with her forest green eyes, and though they were a different shade, it was still too similar. I shot over to the open door and immediately ran, and I didn't stop.


	27. JAMES : XXVII

You know, I had actually been considering maybe spying on the Drakons for Becky, but she ruined that when she texted me the picture captioned with a bunch of nosy questions. I mean really.   
Maybe I was being petty- no, wait, you know what? I didn't think I was being petty. She hadn't owned up to doing everything I said she was doing yet, so she could take a hit to her self-esteem. But asking me if Bjorn was preying on me instead of owning up? Really? Maybe I was being unfair, but I wasn't the only one doing that. Maybe I was being unfair, but I wasn't the only one doing that. No, no, far from, in fact. Yes, the Drakons and Alexanders were connected, and yes, they all seemed a bit sketchy, but I wasn't sure which detail of that implied that mandatory training and information gathering was supposed to be my job until the war was over.  
Still, though, there was the rational part of my mind that reminded me that Becky was still my friend, and her feelings were probably hurt. The other part of my rationality reminded me that regardless of whether she was a friend or not, I deserved to be treated like I was more than just a tool, and I could always just take a break and just separate myself from her antics for a little while, giving her a chance to make everything up to the rest of them, until I was good again.   
I still couldn't believe that she was so up in arms about me being "caught" with Bjorn, who I said I would be with. What? Did she think I was brainwashed? Of course she did. Typical. Because me yelling at her wasn't enough for her to understand.  
"Something wrong?" Bjorn inquired in his funny little accent, and I just looked up from my phone, biting the insides of my cheeks. "Nothing. Just Becky." He sighed lightly in response. Last night, after the confrontation with Edmund, Edmund dropped me off in Bjorn's room. Bjorn had no idea that Edmund had gotten me and gotten inside my head, and upon finding out that he did, he wasn't very happy about it, constantly muttering until he finally got rid of the last trace of presence of Edmund in my mind. I was thankful, but I didn't say so. You shouldn't have to thank someone for not taking advantage of you when you're brainwashed. But, I guess he wasn't as big of a dick as he could've been, so I had to give him that. I guess. "She's been lurking." I clarified, and he raised a brow before scanning the atrium. "They'd be gone by now, whoever reported it back to her. It doesn't matter. They already knew I was with you." He gave me a slight smirk. "With me?" I blushed for some reason. "Screw you. You know what I mean." He continued to smirk. "Sure, sure. I'd love to be screwed." I looked away after a few moments, somehow flustered by this. "This isn't very bro-ish of you." I remarked, scratching the back of my neck as I tried to study literally anyone else in the large room with us. Everyone seemed to be looking away. "Maybe I don't want to be your 'bro.'" He spoke quieter this time, as though he wasn't very confident with that sentence, but when I looked back at him, he still had a cheshire grin to prove otherwise.  
Here's the thing about Bjorn Drakon. He's a mystery. I don't like mysteries, at least, not if I can't solve them. And so far, I was stumped. yes, I was taking a break from Becky's conspiracy theories, but I was also intrigued by him. I wanted to figure him out. Somehow, even though I kept trying to pull myself away, the mystery of him kept pulling me back in. I wanted to figure him out. He came from a country that has always lived in the shadows. He spoke a language I didn't know. He was very charming when he wanted to be, and he seemed like an open book- that was, until you remembered you hadn't even heard about his favorite color, or even who all of his siblings were. I didn't even know if Bjorn was his real name, but I figured I could trust that. What a start, huh? A name and an age. 15. Just one year younger than me, and yet he probably got laid twice as much as I did. The joke's on him. Two times zero is zero.  
"Hm." I just hummed in response, looking away again. I'd barely touched my breakfast, and I felt like he thought it was because I didn't trust him, which made me hesitant to. "Are you going to eat?" He inquired, seeming genuinely concerned. It was flattering, but unneeded. "I don't know, did you poison it or what?" He sucked his teeth at my answer before leaning back, still looking up at me, gazing through his eyelashes and those damned bushy eyebrows. What, did his eyebrows eat Edmund's? I felt like I was silently making jokes at his expense to cover up that the look he was giving me made my stomach turn in a pleasurable way. It's just platonic. Just platonic. "I wouldn't poison you." I expected a second part to that sentence, something cheeky, like 'because there are so many fun things we could do without the poison,' with a wink or something. The wink didn't come. Mystery indeed. "How should I know?" I questioned, keeping my eyes on him now, waiting patiently for his exact reaction. "Because I'm telling you I wouldn't." He seemed sincere. Another part of his clever disguise, maybe. But there was a part of me that desperately wanted to believe it, and I didn't really know why. I just wanted to be his friend, I guessed. I was straight, what other explanation could there be? Besides, I'd never like someone like him in that way. I mean, besides him being a man. Though the longer my eyes lingered on him, the more desperate I became for something I could not name, only feel.  
I ripped my eyes away from him again, hearing him chuckle. "Why do you always look away?" I played dumb, and didn't reply. "Every time we meet eyes, you look away. I'm sure you know this. Why?" He asked again, and I heaved a sigh before looking back at him again and meeting his dark eyes, with a surprisingly light gaze. He seemed genuinely curious. "You know why. You're trying to seduce me. I'm not letting you. I'm straight." He shook his head in playful disbelief and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. I could see his muscles through his tight tee, though the sleeves were long. It was really hard to deny that he looked attractive, but I could say that. Guys could say other guys look hot without it being gay. I wasn't gay. Not even close. I was always the straightest person I ever knew. These lies were shot down before they even exited my mouth. "I'm not trying to seduce you, James." The sound of my name rolling off his tongue so easy made me feel . . . "But, if you wish me to seduce you, I will deliver." "No." I quickly snapped in response, and even I knew that it came out too quickly to be true. He leaned back once again, crossing his arms over his chest. Ugh, why did he have to have so much muscle . . . Ugh! And his hands . . . "Distracted?" He remarked as he began to pick at his nails and I looked away.   
"Is Becky right about you all? Are you really here to . . . Take over?" It sounded silly even as I said it. Bjorn fell silent and I was forced to look over at him again because of pure curiosity of his expression. He looked solemn, and then . . . blank. I couldn't get a read on him. "Am I going to get an answer anytime soon, or should we just head back to the room?" I asked, and it sounded more snappy than I intended. After all, this guy was a Witch who could probably snap me in half. But he didn't. He just smiled at me in response. "As you wish, of course." He dodged my question before picking up my apple and soda and carrying it for me. I got up from my seat and followed him back to his room, slightly miffed that he wouldn't answer. "To answer your question . . . What do you think?" He inquired after a few moments of walking, and I furrowed my brow. "That's not answering. That's just dodging." I spoke reproachfully, but he just let out another cute, but infuriating, laugh. "And what if we were, James, love? What would any of you be able to do about it? What would any of us? We certainly aren't the most powerful people in this situation, not by a long shot." My heart pounded in my throat. What did that mean?  
"You're not?" Bjorn gave me a look. "Of course we're not. We're _teenagers,_ James. Well, some of us are. But I can't say anything else, so please don't make me." He spoke, opening the door. I stood in the doorway to the room, my brow furrowed. "Can't, or won't?" I asked, my voice progressively getting louder. "Lover's quarrel?" A voice behind me spoke, and I nearly hit my head on the top of the door frame. Behind me stood a very tale male. If Bjorn was buff, this guy was simply horrifying. And he was. He had short blond hair that obviously had a fair bit of product in it, and his brow was pierced. He probably had a million tattoos, one of them of a night dragon. He crossed his arms over his chest, blocking the tattoo from view. Oh yeah. This tall guy who towered over me and could probably snap me in half like a toothpick with the strongest jaw I'd ever seen on a man was almost entirely naked. A comically small towel was wrapped around his waist. All I could think of was that it was luckily it was wider than it was long. Bjorn let out either a moan of pleasure or a groan of annoyance.   
"Titus, go _away,_ you brute." Titus just smirked. "Make me, then, sweetheart." Bjorn rolled his eyes and I just sat dumbfounded between them. Bjorn then pulled me out of the doorway and into the room, shutting it behind me. I heard Titus walking away. How was he stealthy enough to appear behind me like that in the first place? The guy was huge, and his footfalls were fairly loud . . . Or maybe that was just what he wanted people to think. I suppressed a shiver. "Who was that? I've never seen him before." I said to Bjorn as he flopped down on his bed, while I sat on Ingimarr's.  
"Oh, of course you haven't seen him. No one ever does, unless he wants them to." He paused, sighing dreamily. "Titus Alexander. Son of the Queen, but not the King. He's . . . cocky." His eyes glinted with something that I couldn't recognize, because it was quickly replaced with blankness once again. "Any other questions? Let's just get all of them out of the way now, they're quite tedious." He spoke before falling silent and looking at me expectantly. He seemed a lot more open now, which was weird. Maybe he was more bothered by the poison comment than he let on. Maybe he was trying to let himself look trustworthy to me, entrap me further in his embrace. What did I want to ask him? "Titus . . . He's the son of the Queen of Drakon, but not the King?" Bjorn seemed bored by the dry question, but unlike the other ones, answered this quickly. "The King and Queen don't always have children with each other. They're more like friends with benefits. And besides, siblings can't marry each other! So instead, they have children with other women and men so that they can pair them together. Most of us are raised separately. The only thing that connects me to Titus is our half-siblings. Luckily."  
Compared to before we saw Titus, or I met Titus . . . He had seemed rather drained, but now he seemed all excited and giddy. It bothered me. What was so wrong with me that I made him tired? I was offended. "What's so great about Titus?" He seemed excited about this question too. "Well, since he's the son of the Queen and her most loyal knight, he's very . . . Strong, you know? Strong AND capable of magic, which is more than I can say for some of my siblings . . . And he's charming." Charming? In what way was he charming? I didn't say this aloud. "And he's so HOT. I'm sure you noticed how hot he is." "So, what, are you two dating?" He furrowed his brow. "What does it matter to you?" I blushed furiously and looked away. Why was this so upsetting to me? "It doesn't." Now that we were on the subject of Titus, he seemed to pay less attention to me. I wasn't happy about this.  
"Anyways," I cleared my throat, "Who's the Queen? What's her name?" I asked, annoyed by the fact that he was still obviously thinking about Titus, maybe even daydreaming. "Oh, the Queen? I don't know her name." I stared at him blankly. "Is it because you were raised apart from her, or . . . ?" "Oh, no, we were definitely raised around that bitch. She accounts for a fair few of my traumatic memories." As we strayed from the topic of Titus, he slowly grew quieter about all of it for reasons I was bitter about. I quickly figured out that if I stayed talking about Titus long enough, he would have loose lips. The problem was that I hated talking about Titus. I especially hated thinking about Titus. And even more so, I hated Titus. Did I really need a reason? _Cocky asshole . . ._  
"What did she do to you?" I asked, actually kind of concerned about that answer, like any normal human being would be. He was recovering even faster from Titusitis that I thought he would, and he was slowly shutting down again. I could live with that. I just didn't want to talk about Titus again. I wanted mu turn to get all Bjorn's attention and I'd do better than Titus when I did. I'd make sure of it. Yeah, Titus was tall and buff and hot, but so was I! I had a fair amount of confidence in those areas, after all, and it wasn't for nothing. Those areas, and I was almost a hundred percent certain that my intelligence was far greater than Titus'. Sure, the guy could probably put a dent in my skull with his fist, but could he read a textbook for at least fifteen pages without falling asleep? I couldn't, but if I had to train to do that for him, I would. I didn't know why, but the way Bjorn acted and how easy Titus had him made me feel terrible- terrible and competitive. This was my bro, not his. Titus could go suck a- _Oh, no._  
"Oh, you know, she was just a huge nag, put me in a bad place- she never liked the Drakons anyway, but I seemed to piss her off because the King preferred me over Edmund . . ." Titus was gay, wasn't he? He and Bjorn were gay together? Oh, that explained it . . . But I couldn't explain why I still felt so angry about the whole situation. I was like a mix of angry and sad and wanting. Jealousy? Why the fuck was I jealous? I was straight. I didn't like Bjorn like that. I couldn't like Bjorn like that. "You look rather bothered, love." I stared at him intensely, but he was either unbothered or feigning innocence.   
And suddenly, before I could stop myself, I was up, I was crossing the room, and I was on his bed, and so very suddenly, my lips were on his. It was completely impulsive, and it was completely friendly. Nothing gay about it. You could trust me on that. He seemed taken aback at first, but soon grew used to the kiss, going as far as to tangle his cold fingers in my already messy hair. A few moments later, I was forced to pull away for air by nature. He was the first of us to speak. "And what exactly was that, love?" He murmured under his breath, and though I didn't have super-hearing like he did, I still heard it. It took me only a heartbeat to respond. "Platonic." I responded, kissing him again, slower, more chastely this time. We pulled apart again. "I'm not sure you know the meaning of that word, love . . ." His eyes were half-lidded and his breath was heavy. His skin was slightly warmer than usual. He kissed me this time. It was purely platonic, just friendly. After we pulled apart again, I barely had a breath to say something before we came together again. These kisses were electric. But just friendly. Just friendly. "Oh, I do." I whispered before we came together again. And this time, we didn't come back apart.  
Soon enough, we had shifted. Bjorn was on his back and I was sat on top of him, both of us still kissing. Suddenly, he pulled back. I kissed his jaw. "Stop, stop, James, stop." He whispered, putting a hand on my arm. He closed his eyes for a moment and I just looked at him until he opened them again. "I've put a mental block on you. If anything happens between us, I don't want anyone spying." I grinned slightly, happy and light for no reason, it seemed.   
Just friends. Just friends. Just friends.  
That afternoon was platonic.


	28. BECKY : XXVIII

After Alrik left, things just got even more tense. I had no idea what had happened, but whatever it was, it obviously wasn't good. While Sam and Ali went to go find him, I wanted to do some training. Maybe exercise would get my mind off of stuff. I could channel all my hurt and frustration into doing something that would help me survive after the takeover that would most likely happen. I wasn't going to voice my opinion on that, though. Maybe I'd trodden on too many toes while just trying my best to protect people by arming them with information. But it was whatever.   
"Who wants to go training? I haven't gotten my session in yet." I spoke softly, trying not to think about what had happened with Alrik. He had gotten this whole thousand-mile stare and everything and before I knew it, he was shaking on the ground, and he screamed as my ears rang. What had happened to him? And not just right then- what had happened to him in the past to cause something like that? Was it some condition he was born with or did the evil that possessed the Drakons, or rather, the Shadow King, run much deeper than I thought? I didn't know. I wasn't sure. And I didn't really know if I wanted to find out the answers to my silent questions. I knew everyone else must have been asking them too. Who wouldn't be? Who wouldn't wonder Alrik went through to make him react like that? I felt a slight shiver make its way up my spine as Betsy replied to me with excitement. Not typically the first word I thought of when it came to exercise, but lately, it was better than anything else.  
"I'd love to go with you!" She exclaimed. She was either unaffected by what happened with the Drakon boy or she was very good at hiding her emotions. Theo also perked up at the mention of further training, giving me a sly smile that would send anyone attracted to girls' heads spinning like tops before answering. "I'll go with, if you don't mind." She spoke, and I then saw an unlikely candidate step up. "It was just my first session this morning, could someone teach me the ropes?" Audrey asked politely. I nodded immediately. Anything to get my mind off of . . . Whatever that was. "I can." I volunteered, and the green-eyed girl smiled.  
Soon enough, we were on the stairs. Theo, still wearing heels, took them two at a time, which I couldn't wrap my head around. I mean, yeah, jumping down stairs is one thing, but doing anything in heels . . . That was another. She was talented, definitely. I would feel sorry for the poor Drakon that tried to cross her, if any of them ever did. Like me, Audrey was barefoot. She had nice dark green nail polish on her fingers and toes that matched the shade of her eyes. It was charming. Betsy, however, was wearing cream colored ballerina flats and walking quickly, though she didn't need to jump, fortunately.   
"So . . . We've never been formally introduced." Audrey began as the others kept moving forward at an alarming rate, sending a smile my way, which I returned. "Ah, right. Well, I'm Becky Barnes." I told her. "Audrey Xavier." She replied shortly, keeping her smile. A question burned through my mind, and I had to ask it. "How did you meet Alrik?" Her lips pursed, and at first, I thought I had touched a nerve or sensitive spot of some kind. I was going to apologize when she began talking and answered my question. "I met him in the hallway on the ground floor when he was upset with Addison. I still don't know exactly what she did to him that night, but he seemed rather shaken." She looked like she had something else to say, but wasn't too keen on saying it. I didn't push. "Oh." I tried to think of something else to ask or say. All I could think about was Addie, though. She'd slapped me at what I thought was Alrik's request or something like that at the time, but now . . . Maybe it was at the expense of both of us. And if she acted like that in public, which she did, what could have possibly been going on behind closed doors? I felt my stomach twist as I thought of what she might have done to hurt him, whether that was her intention or not. What had happened to him? What had happened to the rest of them, actually? My thoughts were graciously interrupted by Audrey before I fell in too deep.  
"What school did you go to?" She asked. "Oh. I went to Eloise Hodge High." I nearly shriveled up with embarrassment. "The Caterpillars?" She inquired of our mascot and I just about died. "Yep. What about you?" "St. Agnes Finishing School." I must have looked horrified because she immediately added on, "Don't worry, it's not totally ancient and sexist like the "Finishing School" part implies. It's just a bit more polished and posh than most other schools. We don't have a mascot, though." She sighed almost mournfully. Can't relate.   
"Isn't St. Agnes in Halen?" I asked of the infamous academy. "Mhm. But Daddy called me home when the war began, to keep an eye on me, he said. I don't know what he was so worried about. I was perfectly safe in Halen. I mean, it's much older and more advanced than Lorus and Drakon, which are only . . . What, three hundred years old?" I was then that I made another connection. How had I not realized this before? Lars and Ingrid were around when Drakon was founded, and because Lars was a Witch, he might have been able to live there before it was closed off, and he would have been able to escape too. What if he knew who the Shadow King was? There was only a very slim chance of this, but I needed to figure out what was going on in Drakon, no matter what the cost. If I knew what type of person was running this whole operation, I might be able to figure out what his next moves were before anyone else was informed, before he even decided on them.   
"Oh, Audrey," I breathed, stopping in the middle of our current flight of stairs, "you're a genius." She seemed flattered, but surprised and vaguely confused by this sudden praise for no reason that she could tell. Betsy and Theo took a moment to notice I had stopped and they came running back up the stairs. "What? What's going on? Becky?" Betsy sounded like a mix of excited and terrified. Me too, Betsy. "I think I know how to figure out the Shadow King's plan." Theo raised a brow at this remark, but nobody really said anything for a few agonizing moments. "And how would you do that?" Theo asked slowly. My thoughts were traveling at the speed of light, and I might have been jumping to an awful lot of conclusions, I might have been grasping at straws, but this was my best lead because Alrik, our oh-so dependable Drakon spy, had no information, and if he did, he wasn't saying any of what he knew.   
"How do you talk to our parents and stuff in this place? Will said he would be calling, but how would he call? There must be a way, something I'm missing, something I haven't discovered yet . . ." Theo seemed more and more perplexed by the second. "What do you want to talk to Pa for?" She asked, and I quickly shook my head, probably making her even more confused, but I couldn't help it. My thoughts were moving faster than my lips could. "Lars. I need to speak to Lars. I think he might know something about Drakon." Betsy spoke up again, her voice low and steady compared to my quick rambles every few seconds. "Who's Lars? What would he know about Drakon? Nobody's visited in three hundred years." She asked, sounding slightly skeptical. "Okay, well, Drakon was founded about three hundred years ago, as you know, and I thought about how Lars was probably around at that point in time, maybe like eighteen or twenty or so, and because he's a Witch he would've been allowed in when they were still building, and maybe he knew what the Shadow King was like, what he acted like, maybe he even knew him personally, and maybe we can anticipate his moves before he decides to make them because, you know, can't teach an old dog new tricks, and . . . We could . . . We could beat this. We could beat them." I wasn't sure if the looks were skeptical because of my theory in general or if it was because of how improbable this specific part sounded, but my cheeks were already burning and I was already regretting saying it aloud. I was at the end of my rope.  
"Never mind, then. Maybe I should just stop talking, because no one takes anything I say to try and save everyone here seriously anyways." They seemed slightly hurt and taken aback by the assumption, but by the time they decided to speak up, I was already running down the stairs, angrily heading my way to Ms. Johnson's room. My mind felt a bit fuzzy, but the stinging in my eyes and the pain in my heart took my attention away from it.   
You know what? I didn't need anyone else for this plan if no one was going to support me despite piles upon piles of evidence. All I needed was myself. Yet, when none of them came after me to comfort me or calm me down, it still hurt. Maybe I was being irrational, I couldn't tell, but it didn't feel like it. I thought they were my friends. Oh well. Not anymore, I guess. I could feel myself quickly spiraling but I couldn't stop it. Tears welled up as I thought of James. My oldest friend, my confidante since five years old, and not even he seemed to believe me. Or maybe he just didn't want to.  
I pushed back my feelings as I knocked on Ms. Johnson's door. The nametag sutck on it would have made me laugh under normal circumstances, maybe, but right now I was just angry and hurt. Ms. Johnson opened the door, looking more tired and less sour than usual. Luckily, I didn't care too much about her wellbeing. Never did, really. "Yes, Becky?" I was impatient and on the verge of an emotional breakdown, so I didn't bother being nice and asking how she was or whatever the hell. "I need to speak to some friends of my parents." I was brutally honest about it, and surprisingly, she didn't object like a part of me thought that she would. Instead, she led me to the second floor, to a room I didn't even know existed- it was a computer lab with a router set up for the Internet. I suddenly wished I'd known about this my first night when I might have still wanted my memes.  
She sat down at a computer near the front of the room. "Names?" She asked. "Lars and Ingrid." I answered. She raised a brow at me. "Any last names?" I shrugged. "Right. Any age?" She sighed. "Over three hundred years old." She blinked before typing it into something I couldn't see. "That narrows it down . . ." I heard a ringing from the computer, and I assumed a video call was starting. Was it really that easy to get a hold of them? The ringing stopped after a few moments and I moved to look at the screen as a man with the same characteristics of an angry bulldog popped up, staring at the camera. "Ah, Marie. Here to interrupt the training and stunt the army again?" Ms. Johnson narrowed her eyes. "It's not Marie, it's Maryanne, and I have a child who wants to speak to Lars and Ingrid Stone." The man rolled his eyes. "One moment. I'll get the hippies." He got up from his chair and exited the room for a few minutes before finally coming back with Lars and Ingrid in town, then leaving the room to give them privacy for their call. Moments later, Ms. Johnson did the same for me.  
"Ah, little one, how are you faring?" Ingrid grinned, leaning closely to the screen and looking at me earnestly. Given my current mood, it was rather hard to fake a smile, but I did it for their shakes anyways. Unluckily, the room was pretty dark and the screen was pretty dark, so my pale, pale, dead woman face was almost invisible. I looked like a discount Jeff the Killer with white hair and normal eyes with purple bags below them. "I'm pretty good, how are you guys?" I asked politely in return, and Ingrid bit her lip. "Well, training is vigorous, but at least Lars and I aren't on the front lines." I furrowed my brow, but the camera barely registered it. "What's happened on the front lines?" I asked, slowly forgetting what I came here to ask. Lars and Ingrid exchanged a glance. "We shouldn't be telling you this, but nothing. Nothing is happening. Nothing has happened for weeks. Not a single attack. Everyone is starting to get antsy." She sighed softly, and I could practically hear her playing with her hands nervously in her lap.   
"Oh, god . . ." I murmured, quickly remembering why I came. "I think I know why they aren't attacking." Ingrid frowned and Lars paid more attention to the screen now. "What do you mean?" I bit the insides of my cheeks before quickly explaining the situation. "A couple weeks ago, some people came to the compound. They were from Drakon. I think they might be spies. They've been doing really shady things and . . ." My voice cracked, my eyes welling before the tears finally spilled over, "No one believes me." I sniffled as the hot tears splashed on my shirt. "Oh, no . . ." Ingrid and Lars were taking it seriously, I could tell. Lars suddenly spoke for the first time in the entire call, his voice lowered and his tone urgent. "Becky, tell no one. They cannot know you know about them. You understand me? Edmund will kill you." A cold weight dropped in my stomach and my eyes widened. I was right. "You have to promise you will tell no one. Anyone who knows what they are doing is in danger. They could die, or be subjected to something much worse." "I promise." My voice shook. Oh, god, what had I done? "You're going to be fine, Becky, I promise you. Ingrid and I are coming. We aren't going to be losing you too." The video cut out before I could say good bye. I stared at the white screen, tears still falling. Oh, god. Everyone was going to die, and it was because of me, because I was right.   
Oh, no. I had to warn them. I had already told my friends, it was too late, but now I truly had to protect them. I practically flew out of the room, past a waiting Ms. Johnson. My heart pounded in my chest and I was breathing too hard, my lung and calves burning in protest, bt I couldn't stop. Oh, god, no. I was not about to lose them all. "ALI! SAM!"I screamed at the top of my lungs. I knew people would probably be mad, but I didn't care. I needed to keep them alive. What would I do when I found them? I had no idea, but I had to do something. I hadn't even considered using my phone, but soon enough I took it out of my bra and texted Ali. I ran to the basement, the tears coming faster now that the real panic was settling in. But the basement was still dark and no one was there. I immediately ran back upstairs, both the vigorous exercise and panic making it harder and harder to breathe with every second. Every part of me seemed to be in a cold sweat. Ali hadn't answered yet. I didn't even know if he was alive. He had probably gotten hurt far worse this time because I had been so stupid. James was right about some things, but I wasn't going to stop until everyone was safe, even if I had to punch a Drakon in the dick to get my friends back. Even if they didn't want to come back. I'd rather have them hate me than let them die.   
As soon as I reached the room, I stopped for breath. The door was open, and inside was Annalise, Aria and June. June jumped up upon seeing me. "What's wrong? Why are you crying? Where are the other three? What the hell is going on?" June's questions came a mile a minute as Aria stayed eerily silent before snapping, "June, be quieter." Aria pulled me into the room, slamming the door behind me and turning the light off. Percy barked just once before falling silent. "Answer June's questions," Aria instructed, her voice low, and I tried to slow down as I explained what had happened during the last hour through my tears. Aria sat on my bed, arms crossed as she listened. June watched me with wide eyes and a furrowed brow. Annalise just seemed to be asleep. After I finished, Aria just sighed through her nostrils. "You and Annalise stay here. June and I will find everyone else. Calm the hell down. 'Kay?" I slowly nodded, and I watched as they left. Dread seemed to breathe down my neck the entire time.


	29. ALRIK : XXIX

I don't know how long I had been there. Maybe an hour. Maybe less. It was quiet in the basement. Once, I heard someone panting and running. She left quickly. She didn't bother looking in my direction. She probably didn't know I was there. I don't know how they knew where to look for me. Maybe it was just that . . . brotherly sense. Maybe they had a homing signal on me. I didn't know. It couldn't have been that hard, though. They had magic to find me. I didn't have magic of my own to cloak me. By the time I had the sense to at least try to hide myself a little bit better, it was already too late. Found.  
I felt Edvald shaking my shoulder before I saw him. With him, though it was dark in the basement, I could see Edmund with him, his blond hair glinting in the darkness. "Come on. You've got to get up." Edmund spoke calmly at a low volume, but something in his voice was rather urgent. What had happened while I was hiding?  
I did not stand.  
Edvald gave me a pleading look, and my heart sunk to my stomach. What did Edmund have against the two of us that would force us to do what he wished in this moment? What could he possibly have that would make any difference to me if I missed it or not? My journal? What? I looked up at Edmund again and saw his nostrils flare. "I suggest you hurry, little brother. There are lives on the line. Addison, James and his sister . . . that little green-eyed girl you seem to love so much . . ." It was either Becky or Audrey he was referring to, but either way, I could not let them be harmed. I stood, slowly, my vision blurring for a moment. My head felt light . . . Too light . . . But this had to be done. Edmund gave me a cold smile. "Good. Now, come." He began to walk away, and Edvald and I followed. Now I knew what he had against him. It was Alistair. Somehow, they had gotten a hand on Alistair, and now . . . Edvald was compromised. Controlled. Again. As if keeping us all alone for all our lives wasn't bad enough, they had to use our only other contact against us. My eyes burned with tears but I pushed everything back. Edmund would let them go after we did what he wanted. I trusted that. But after that point, I would never trust him with my friends again.  
That was when it occurred to me- He knew. He knew I was on their side. I had to recover quickly, I had to make an excuse, and I had to come back. Oh, god. I would never get out of this family. I would be trapped, forever, until the day I died. I thought . . . Maybe, I could have escaped, and I was wrong. So, very wrong. So I put on a smirk, I walked with vigor, and I caught up to Edmund in two strides.  
"And why should I care so much about these mortals you have for me?" I inquired as bile began to climb up my throat threateningly. Luckily for me, Edmund had placed his mental block on me all too well. He could not reach me no matter how hard he tried. Or, at least not without being noticed. He had no suspicions, and despite my momentary lapse of my facade, he only viewed me as back to normal. Or . . . from what I could tell. He just smiled even as Edvald lingered behind us. "Oh, my. You must have played them too well. They were all under the impression you would come and save them. You, and the rather peculiar Miss Barnes." So, they didn't have her. Good. From spending only less than twenty-four hours in her company and a previous couple of weeks of meeting, teasing and fighting with her, it was clear that her loose lips would get her killed if she had indeed been caught and captured.  
"They said that?" I mused, my heart pounded faster than before in my chest. "Oh, no. They only thought so. Seems they were wrong." He smirked as I moved behind him on the skinny staircase. "Seems they were."  
Were they? I hadn't known them for long, but most of them were so angelically kind to me . . . Was it foolish to think that these perfect people would ever truly accept me into their group? Perhaps, but I could dream, couldn't I? I could dream of a life where I was, for once, accepted, maybe even loved rather than just tolerated by those I spent time around. I could learn to trust them and learn to be trusted by them. I could make friends . . . I could marry Addie. A pang of guilt for my current actions stabbed through my heart. A want, a need for this dream suddenly surged through my veins, invigorating me- it gave me _hope_ , hope that was previously squashed. But that was the thing about hope- a spark, no matter how small, could not be snuffed out so easy.  
"Where are we going?" I murmured to Edvald, but before he could answer, Edmund explained the situation. "I was monitoring Becky's thoughts when she did something rather curious. I tried to manipulate her thoughts, make her angry at her friends Lars and Ingrid, when she snapped on her friends in the mansion instead. Of course, this gave Juno and Ingimarr a chance to collect them and isolate our dear little theorist further, so I won't complain . . . Anyways, she went to Ms. Johnson and managed to get to talking with her little friends and surprise! One was a Witch, a significantly powerful Witch, and he's coming." My heart skipped a beat. Help was coming.  
"He could destroy us all, though we could destroy him first if we act quickly. And do you know how exactly we would destroy him, boy?" His pause didn't last long enough me to answer, which was fine because I didn't know the answer, and all I could think of for a substitute answer was 'He's allergic to peanuts?' and 'Don't call me "boy."'  
"Love. We destroy him with love. This Witch has a soft spot for Miss Barnes, you see. He goes weak for children in general, some sentimental reason I s'pose, but he also sees Miss Barnes just as we do. Or, the ones who can feel her magic do." I furrowed my brow. "She's a Witch?" Edmund simply smiled at me like I was an idiot and changed the subject as we reached the stairwell leading up from the ground floor. Suddenly, the speaker system turned on, and we all stopped. _"James Stark, please come to the second floor."_ Edmund closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and continuing up the stairs. I decided not to question it.  
"So, what does Becky's peculiarity have to do with what we're doing right now, exactly?" I inquired, though I was fairly sure I already knew what was going to happen. I didn't want to know. I didn't want it to happen. Yet, I still knew it would. It was inevitable, in this plan. Becky was too late to stop us. Though there was a part of me that wondered, even if I had gotten over my crippling fear of the King and stayed on their side, if we could've won either way. Truthfully, I didn't think so. I didn't think we stood a chance, and I was so sorry. This would not end well. Becky was a talker. Maybe they would cut her tongue out. Maybe they would torture her until she otherwise lost the ability to speak. Maybe they would kill her. I just hoped she would find a shred of self-preservation when I did what I had to. I just hoped she would learn to shut her mouth and survive.  
"Oh, boy, I believe you already know." He paused, picking up speed as he went up the stairs, taking three at a time. He looked positively gleeful. Another mission finished for his daddy, I suppose. Another country gone dark. "The generator, I discovered, is in the attic. You, you brute, you, will be the one to take it out." I nodded slowly, trying to keep up with him to seem less suspicious to him before he maybe decided to crack my head open again and have a look at my thoughts. He laughed and shouted as he went up the stairs, but both Edvald and I stayed silent, trudging along. He probably knew he would have to give up Alistair if he wanted either of them to survive the aftermath. I almost felt bad, but I didn't. This getting attached part, this was all our fault. We knew this would happen, and we fell anyways. Like he did with Alistair, I did with Addie, Annalise did with the humanity . . . And now we would pay the price of admiring. It took longer in silence to get to the attic. I counted my steps as they pounded in unison with my heart. There would be no coming back from this. Every escape that I so wished to have, it would all be gone and no one would ever trust me again. I could rebel, I could resist, but when it came down to orders from the King himself, I couldn't help but follow them or die. I felt like such a _coward,_ but I wasn't even that good. I had no thoughts of my own anymore. I was just a soldier.  
That was what kept the axe in my hand as I flipped it in my grasp, my hands sweaty.  
I was just a soldier.  
I swung.

_I'm sorry, Addie._


	30. JAMES : XXX

After the . . . eventful, to say the least, afternoon with Bjorn, I took a shower by myself. I'd invited him along, but he claimed he couldn't trust himself around me in that situation and that he would rather have some fun in a place less slippery. The experience I had with him was purely exploring our friendship. I wasn't gay. _He_ was gay, though. That was okay. I wrapped myself in a very soft blue towel as soon as I got out of the steamy shower, briefly thankful that I didn't have long hair like Theo, because it took her about an hour to dry it naturally, according to her. 

I ended up getting redressed in some of Bjorn's more loose clothing, and, for a while, we just laid on the bed, gazing at each other like real bros. I was just really glad he wasn't the bad egg of the family like Edmund seemed to be. And, you know, though he came off as an overconfident ass to me at first, he seemed sweet when it was just the two of us. 

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, his eyes wandering around my face before stopping on my irises. A smile flickered across his lips briefly- a real smile, not just a smirk like normal. My heart stopped and restarted within the span of a few moments when he hit me with that nonverbal charm. "You." I answered after a moment's consideration. It was true. He was the sort of person that, if he was in the room, you could never take your mind off him. Or maybe that was just for me. He _was_ my bro, after all.

A sly smile curled the corners of his lips. "That wasn't very bro-ish of you," he mimicked me from earlier that day, and I rolled my eyes and gently punched his arm. In all honesty, this hadn't been what I'd expected to come out of this war, from coming to this compound. Sure, I'd maybe joked about romance in my head, but this bromance was far more than I expected to receive. After all, I'd lost my virginity. Well, gave it, actually. Friendship goals, right? And it didn't feel like a mistake, far from one, actually. I wanted to be his bro for the rest of my life. Realistically, it might not last that long, and even if it did, he would probably outlive me, being a Witch and all.

I didn't know why I trusted him so much, though. I would've thought he was messing with my head like Edmund, but I knew what that felt like and this wasn't it. But the attraction I felt towards him in only just a few weeks was undeniable. Maybe I had just been looking for this my whole life, and that's why I was so eager to be with him as his bro.

"What are you--" Before I could finish my question for him, however, the speaker in the room suddenly turned on and an announcement blared right above our heads near the vent on the ceiling. "James Stark, please come to the second floor." Bjorn closed his eyes from what I assumed was slight frustration at the interruption before opening them again and kissing me square on the lips. He lingered there for a moment after the kiss ended as if he was saying good bye and I rolled my eyes slightly, secretly finding it cute. "I'll be back soon." I promised before slowly getting up from the warm confines of the bed and leaving the room, not bothering to get any more dressed up that I already was. I approached the stairs, hearing some conversation above me, but it was too distant to hear. I could have sworn I heard Edmund, though. I rolled my eyes and stopped climbing the stairs when I reached the second floor. 

Soon enough, I spotted Ms. Johnson. I repressed a grin when I remembered how easily June took her down with just a punch to the face. She looked sour, as usual. Whatever. She didn't seem to remember the nighttime incident, though, which was good. "Hello, James." She greeted me dryly, looking more and more tired the close I got to her. "What is it? 'M I in trouble or something?" I asked, shoving my hands in the pockets of Bjorn's jacket. She rolled her eyes. "Your parents called." My heart leaped to my throat. "What?" I hadn't heard from them in so long- how had they managed to contact her? I suppose Pa wasn't very happy when she picked up, and I suppressed a laugh at the thought of them speaking on the phone with him calling first, for the first time in the history of the world. "Yes, and Will is currently waiting, so if you could just step in the room and make it quick as possible . . ." She gestured to a room she was standing next to, and immediately, I shot in. I quickly spotted Pa on one of the screens. He seemed to be grimacing but when I sat down he lightened up some.

"Pa!" I exclaimed, and he smiled. "I told her to call your siblings, but it seems she only knows about your existence specifically." He sighed. "I'm difficult to forget." I joked, and he laughed softly. "That you are." He paused for a moment, his eyes glinting some, and he shifted in his seat. "I'm sorry, we only just got calling privileges. Truthfully, I didn't know if I'd be able to . . . I didn't know we had communication abilities at the boot camp. But, we do. Yay! On the battlefield, I'll doubt we'll be as lucky . . ." He paused again after realizing he was beginning to ramble. "I'm sorry, kid. How are you?" He asked, and I just smiled, tears pricking my eyes again. "I'm . . . good." I decided to leave out the peculiar events with the Drakons and all. I didn't want him worrying about it. He had enough to worry about anyways. He smiled.

"That's good. That's good, Jay. How's Theo, and Eli?" He inquired as a follow-up. "Theo is thriving as she does in social situations, and Eli is doing okay. They've made a couple friends, Sam and June and Betsy." He continued to smile, but I could tell there was something wrong. 

"How are things at the camp?" I asked timidly and he let out a ragged sigh. "It feels like they're overworking me sometimes, but it's really your Dad who's in trouble with people . . ." He let out a slight laugh. "He's made enemies in the ranks with his smart mouth- I should've known." I felt the tears building. "Is he going to be okay?" I asked quietly, and he quickly nodded, his smile brightening though I could see pain in his eyes. "As long as we're together, he'll be okay. As long as you and Theo and Eli are okay, he'll be okay. I promise." He looked behind him as a muffled noise came from the background before looking back and sighing. "I've got to go, I'm sorry, kid." I swallowed, inhaling deeply. "Bye, Pa." He gave me a slight smile, trying to keep himself together for my sake while I was failing to keep myself together for his. "Bye, Jay."

I pressed my hand to the computer screen, my eyes watering as I looked at my Pa's image on the screen. 

That was when the power went out. 

That was when everything went dead silent. 

That was the first moment I truly knew fear.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a short girl with long brown hair came in, panting heavily. Aria. "James, come with me. We're in deep shit."

**Author's Note:**

> Not all characters belong to me.


End file.
